The Last Digivice
by Arek the Absolute
Summary: 02/03 sequel Long after the final battle with NightmareOmnimon, the DigiWorld sleeps. But as the light grows stronger, so too does the shadow. Now a loose collection of heroes must find the fiendish Destroyer and stop him before all is lost.
1. Prelude to Destruction

[After many months of absence, I have returned. I am sorry to have forced my loyal readers to wait all this time for this latest chapter in my tale. And for the new readers, I am glad to have you, but I do recommend starting with _The White DigiEgg_ if you want to understand certain parts of this fic. Now then, let's focus on more important matters, like the premier of this third fic in an epic series. This has been a long time in the making and I am happy with the result. I should warn you beforehand that this will very likely be even longer than _The Crest of Corruption_. Now sit back and take in chapter one of…_Digimon Legends: The Last Digivice_…

Disclaimer: All things not created by me in the following pages are the property of someone else very, very far away. Japan I think. Probably some guys in California too. Anyway, since I'm making no money off this deal they can't sue me. No animals, humans, digimon, or pixels were intentionally harmed in the making of this fanfic. All original characters are the sole property of Arek the Absolute.]

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Digimon: Legends

The Last Digivice

Kari felt very alone in the infinite sea of darkness. She could see absolutely nothing and the only thing she could feel was a cold, biting wind. She seemed to be floating, naked and alone in the cold, black space. Then a light appeared in the distance. It was a dim, menacing, crimson light; it was very faint, but it was growing more intense by the second. Kari began to hear strange sounds from the void; clicks, heavy breathing, and the noise of some foul creature slithering about echoed all around her. The red light grew more and more intense and began to reflect off of dozens of long, black, bone-like tentacles all around her. The sinister shapes glistened in the burning light. The cold sensation all but vanished as an intense heat began to overcome Kari. She felt something prick her shoulder, and a quick look revealed it was one of the tentacles. It was very close, and its edges were razor-sharp. She tried to cry out for help, but she felt like she couldn't get any air to her lungs. The shadowy whips drew in closer and closer, causing Kari to shrink back from them for fear of her life. She looked around, absolutely terrified and desperate to escape. Soon the snaking tendrils were within inches of her body on all sides, slithering around one other. The light and painful heat were too much to handle. And then, a raspy, venomous voice spoke in Kari's ear.

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Day 1

A bolt of lightning cut the night sky. A low rumble of thunder followed it a few moments later as the ominous clouds that covered the sky let loose a torrential rain. Below, the city gleamed with light, standing out in the dead of night like a beacon. Dozens of buildings stretched out to grasp the sky in their curled fingers, none of them quite tall enough. Despite the late hour and dreary weather the streets still bustled with life, albeit not as much as normal. Subways continued their endless racing below the city streets while above them countless birds nested anywhere they chose. On the sidewalks, pedestrians hid beneath their umbrellas like turtles in their shells, dodging between cars and buildings and any other dry place they could find. Cars passed cautiously through deep pools of water. Thousands of people were still hard at work. Some worked in grocery stores; some were janitors; some had late nights at the office. Others were police officers, doormen, waiters, and virtually any other profession imaginable. Most of the city was at home, though. Some were watching television, others were talking on the phone, and still others were catching up on work they hadn't completed during the day. For the most part, those who were lucky enough to be at home were sleeping more or less comfortably in bed. There was another great bolt of lightning followed by a roll of thunder.

The explosion of light and sound were reminiscent of the apocalyptic battle between Omnimon and NightmareOmnimon. Each flash was like their swords striking each other. Each low rumble was like one of their world-shattering explosions. It all seemed so distant now, like a forgotten dream lying hidden, just beneath the surface. Now there were other things in life to be concerned with. All those adventures ran the risk of being forgotten, but if one thing is to be learned from what is about to unfold, it is that important things will never allow themselves to be forgotten. Sooner or later, they will return to haunt you when you least expect it. The story is ready to begin again, and it is about to take place in a small, darkened apartment in the city of Odaiba, Japan.

Kari awoke with a start, bathed in cold sweat. Her eyes looked straight ahead and were transfixed on nothing in particular. She had never had a dream more absolutely terrifying than that one, but her breathing slowed and her pulse ceased its racing as she came to see that it was nothing more than that; just a dream. Still, whether or not it was a dream, she was in no rush to go back to sleep. Suddenly she remembered that her shoulder had been cut in the dream. He hand raced to the spot, but found there was no wound. That was all the convincing she needed to be sure it was a dream and nothing more.

The sound of the pouring rain outside gave Kari a certain degree of calm. Now fully immersed in reality once again, she plucked her silk bathrobe from where it was neatly hung on a hook next to the bed; she was, after all, a very tidy person. She stood and cinched up her robe, walking to the bathroom just outside her bedroom. Once in the pitch-black chamber she groped the wall for the light switch. She found it a few seconds later and the harsh light switched on. Staring back at her from the mirror was the reflection of a very attractive young woman with long, chestnut hair, only a few months out of college: her own reflection.

She bent over the sink and turned on the faucet. She splashed some water in her face and then dried off with a hand-towel. With that done, she looked at her reflection in the mirror for a few seconds.

"Relax; it was just a dream," she said to herself.

After that brief reassurance, she turned around, flicked off the light and went back out. Before she passed through the door to her bedroom though, she was surprised by the sound of gentle snoring coming from the living room. Curious, she went to see what it was. Sure enough, there was TK, still fully dressed and looking very much worse for wear, passed out on the couch. She hadn't heard him come in, and since he was out here it seemed likely that he hadn't wanted to wake her up. Oh well; she was just glad that he was home before one o'clock tonight. She noticed that he looked like he could use a shave; she would have to remind him in the morning. With a great deal of care, Kari draped a blanket over TK's sleeping form and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

She made her way back to her bed, but when she reached the desk in the bedroom something reflected the light from the street below, catching her eye. She picked it up and saw that it was a small whistle, which she hadn't paid much attention to for years. She then sat down at the desk chair as all of the whistle's attached memories rushed back to her. Gatomon; the Digital World; all of those adventures. They were so long ago now: about ten years. Suddenly inspired, she placed the whistle in the desk drawer and turned on the desk-lamp. She then bent over to a small bookshelf nearby and dug out an old photo album, which included most of the shots she'd taken with her digital camera now printed out and collected. She fingered her way through the volumes of pictures before coming upon the two she was looking for a few minutes later. She set the book down beneath the lamp and looked toward the large picture on the left side of the page for a long time. It was the one of the whole group together for the last time.

"Wow…look at that…" she said nostalgically. "I can't believe we were all that young once."

She looked over each of the faces there in turn. She first looked at Joe, back when he had that long, wavy hair and those narrow, smart glasses. Always buried in his studies. Good old reliable Joe had gone through life as expected. He went through high school and passed with flying colors; for college he'd gone overseas to a university in Pennsylvania. Of course he was completely stressed-out the entire time but he still did quite well. He'd even stayed there as he worked his way through medical school. It had been months since Kari had seen Joe, but aside from the goatee he'd grown and the shorter haircut, she doubted he would have changed much.

Next came Mimi and Michael. Those two had been dating years back, but nothing serious ever came of it so they stopped seeing each other but stayed friends; or so Kari had heard from Mimi. Lately, though, Mimi had been hinting in her e-mails that she and Michael had started going out again and they were having a lot of fun. She even thought it just might be the real deal. Outside of relationships, Mimi had left college after only two years despite her father's warnings and had landed herself a job in a fashionable Manhattan restaurant. It wasn't exactly a job as a chef like Mimi really wanted—and that wasn't unreasonable considering the cooking expertise she'd no doubt gotten from her mother—but waiting tables seemed to satisfy her for the time being and her father was willing to help her out financially. She and Joe had renewed their friendship after he moved to America, living only a few hours from each other. As for Michael, he had shied away from the glamour of Hollywood and taken a different path than his action-star father. He'd decided instead to turn down the road of high finance. Through hard work, a few good connections, and dropping his father's name where appropriate, Michael had clawed his way to a reasonably lucrative position as assistant manager of a bank in the Bronx; not too shabby.

Moving onto Willis, he was likewise fresh out of college and already gainfully employed as a software designer while still taking graduate classes at MIT. Rumor had it that Willis' income was ludicrous—no doubt the end result of the stiff competition potential employers had given each other over him. Apparently, being a genius has distinct advantages. The last thing Kari heard was that he was healthy, happy, and enjoying himself immensely.

Then there was Davis. True to his word, he hadn't as much as touched a soccer ball since his little accident five years earlier. Moreover, his quest to prove that he was still as much of a man as anyone else had turned into a full-blown crusade. He'd lost over half a dozen girlfriends because he was in such a rush to have kids. In the end, that was probably best for him because although he'd matured a lot he still had a ways to go. Professionally, Davis' entire higher education experience had revolved around two things: partying and girls. Still, he had somehow managed to come out with an impressive array of knowledge about his major: advertising. Davis, being the type to never give up on a dream, felt knowledge of advertising would really help him out in making his noodle cart idea a reality. Still, he didn't even have enough money to get that started, so for the time being he was bouncing between jobs most of the time. He had little luck finding anything in advertising because even though he was good, there were a lot of people out there better than him.

After Davis were Ken and Yolei. They had been through their share of difficulties over the years. It may have been a bumpy ride sometimes, but somehow they'd beaten the odds. Their love had only grown over the years and now they were engaged, an announcement they had only made a few days ago. The big date had been set for about two and a half months in the future. Beyond that, Ken was kept very busy at work. The interest he'd had in mystery and detective novels as a kid had grown into a career goal and he was now working as a street cop. It was hardly glamorous, and the danger had Yolei constantly worried but Ken loved the job and always managed to reassure his fiancée that he'd be just fine, and he always was. As for Yolei, she had nixed college to travel and refine her skills with her true passion: the violin. She had said that those were the best years of her life, but she did find it hard to be separated from Ken for so long, and it didn't really give her any real career prospects. Honestly, though, she seemed to want to settle down and have a big family to take care of, just like her parents had done.

Cody was still in college and hoped to someday go onto law school. Kari never would've thought that timid little kid she'd once known so well could turn into such an outgoing guy that was apparently the finest orator any of his professors had ever known. He also worked at a martial arts studio, training his students in kendo. Since his grandfather died he was always looking for a way to honor the old man, and in a way he thought that teaching others what his grandfather had taught him would accomplish that. His work and studies kept him very busy though and he barely had time to spend with his friends, much less a girlfriend. One thing that had never changed was how seriously he took everything, especially his studies.

Kari then turned her attention to Izzy. He'd arguably been affected most by being cut off from the Digital World. He would pour over his old collected data from time to time, trying to find some way to get back. It wasn't that he missed His partner more than anyone else did, but he did miss the thrill of researching a whole world; in Kari's opinion Izzy was never happier than when he was proposing one of his countless theories regarding the Digital World. Still, he'd managed to do okay for himself, even if he wasn't really happy. He was the assistant webmaster at some manufacturing company based in Yokohama, which meant he was still within an hour's travel by train. He even had a girlfriend now. Kari had only met her once but Izzy sure seemed to like her.

Next were Matt and Sora, who were married just under a year ago and still seemed as happy together as they were when they were first engaged. They'd hit their share of troubled patches in the past, but nothing could deter them from loving each other. After his band had broken up, Matt went into the airforce and found a real niche for himself. Sora's friendship with Mimi seemed to lead to their rubbing off on one another; specifically, Sora seemed to take on Mimi's interest in fashion and Mimi had picked up a rather down-to-earth attitude from Sora. That interest in fashion led Sora to try to break into designing, but it was a long road and she had to settle for the position of secretary at a big clothing store in Kyoto for the time being.

Of course Tai was also there in the picture too, a wide grin on his face. In high school he'd been student body president and an officer in every club he'd joined. He had started numerous student organizations in college, led protests against unfair policies, and represented his fellow students on countless occasions. His role as head honcho of the DigiDestined had obviously prepared him to become the artful negotiator and charismatic leader he'd grown up to be. He had just recently hit it big when a member of the Tokyo City Council offered to make him his campaign manager.

Kari then saw TK and herself. The very day this picture was taken she had broken up with him. She'd been so afraid that she had broken his heart, but he was more resilient than she had given him credit for. They got back together five years later but their relationship was on something of a roller coaster ride. Fortunately they were past all that now—they agreed that most of their problems had been the result of hyperactive hormones—and they were very happy together. They had moved in together about a year ago when they were both in college, sharing the rent for the mildly cramped apartment. TK was working as journalist at the time to feed his passion for writing, as well as his stomach. What time he had that wasn't taken up with sleep and work was mostly spent on his first real book, which he hoped would be published and sell well enough that he could cut back on his hours at the paper and spend more time with Kari. Kari had studied hard to become a teacher and she was well on her way to becoming a substitute. If she wanted to become a real teacher, though, she had a few more years of school to look forward to.

Looking down and to the right of the first picture, Kari looked over the second picture. It was the last picture she'd taken of Jack and Stormdramon before they left. Since then she had seen him only a few times. In fact it had been eight years since they last met face-to-face. They occasionally spoke through e-mail, though. From what Kari had heard, Jack had gone through a lot over those years. His father died of a heart attack three years earlier; it was apparently the result of years in a high-stress job with so little release. After that, his mom began taking more and more time to be with him; she didn't want to end up like her late husband. Career-wise he was on the fast track to success, already a manager at his father's old company while simultaneously attending graduate classes at Swarthmore, a university not too far from Philadelphia. Indeed, one of the things about Jack that Kari had only learned a couple years ago was that he was a lot smarter than she once gave him credit for. In the last message she'd received from Jack, Kari had learned that he was engaged. That was over three months earlier.

As Kari looked down and pondered over those faces, as they had appeared so long ago, she failed to notice the tall figure approaching behind her.

"Kari? What are you doing up?" asked TK.

"Oh!" she gasped and instinctively shut the album. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah," TK said with a yawn, "I woke up because of this really freaky dream…"

Kari froze in her tracks. "D-dream…?"

"Yeah, it was weird," TK began. "There was this duck there, but it had a beak like a hawk or something and it started attacking me. When I tried to hit it, it turned into a wooden butterfly and I tried to run away but—"

Kari breathed a sigh of relief. "Sounds like you've been working too hard. I'll bet we both have been. Let's try to get some sleep tonight."

"Maybe you're right. Let's go to bed."

Kari slipped the photo album back in its proper place and followed TK over to the bed, where they both climbed under the covers and shut their eyes, slowly drifting back into an undisturbed sleep.

Outside, the rain continued to pour down over the city. The occasional car continued down the flooded streets and people still dashed from one dry spot to the next. The city remained aglow despite the late hour, and life went on as normal. A bolt of lightning cut the night sky and a low rumble of thunder followed it a few moments later.

Several hours passed and the sun began to rise, or at least it tried to. The sky was still overcast, but the rain had stopped, leaving deep puddles in the rolling, grassy hills of this place far removed from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The day was just about to begin, and it was met by the smell of wet grass and a gentle breeze. A wooden shack, dug out partially from the side of a hill, was tingling with the awakening of its only resident. A yawn could be heard emanating from within as the creature inside stretched. The shack's resident scratched an itch on his back and then hopped down onto the floor, plodding his way toward the door. The low hatch creaked on its hinges and swung outward, revealing the new day to the stout, furry, red-and-purple creature. He took in a great breath of air through his nose.

"Ahh…" he said, releasing his breath. "Now that's invigorating. Well, time to get to work."

"Don't bother going down to the river," said a strong, male voice from down the path, "today's fishing is already taken care of."

The short creature stood up on his toes and peered down the hill. Hovering there and carrying a net full of fresh fish slung over his golden staff was Angemon.

"Good morning, Elecmon. Sleep well?" Angemon asked.

"You betcha'," Elecmon said warmly. "I gotta' tell ya' I'm surprised to see you up this early. This has got to be a first!"

"Maybe you're just getting old," Angemon suggested with a smirk.

"Maybe you young pups are just wearin' me out," Elecmon remarked.

They exchanged more friendly conversation as they moved down the road toward their mutual destination of Primary Village. Their leisurely walk took them only twenty minutes to get down the winding path to the village. As soon as they arrived, Angemon set down the net he carried and de-digivolved to Patamon.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who tires out easily," Elecmon noticed.

"I'd like to see you try it," Patamon returned. "Besides, it's not so easy without a partner."

"Alright!" said Elecmon. "I'll start with these fish and you take a look around. You know the drill."

"I'm on it!" said Patamon as he and Elecmon took off in opposite directions.

And thus, the two of them set about their morning routine. Elecmon prepared the fish to serve to the dozens of ever-hungry baby digimon while Patamon checked over the babies, made sure everything was fine, and kept an eye out for digieggs that were ready to be hatched. It had all become very much the standard operating procedure over the stretch of years. Patamon found that he had learned much under the tutelage of Elecmon, who often told Patamon of how proud he was of him and what a fine digimon he was growing up to be.

Several hours passed by slowly, and morning was in full swing. The clouds had mostly dissipated and the ground was still wet but things seemed less gloomy with blue sky overhead. Elecmon had met up with Patamon at the usual spot in the shade of a tree where they always ate breakfast together.

"I think you really outdid yourself this time," said Patamon, happily devouring another fried fish.

"You flatter me, kid," said Elecmon, stripping the meat from his own tasty morsel and disposing of the bones, "there's nothing really special about these."

"Well you must've done something new," said Patamon as he took up another fish, "because these have never been so good."

"Oh Patamon, I nearly forgot to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"It seems an old friend of ours is coming to the island!"

"Really? Who is it? Wait. Let me guess. Is it…Tentomon?"

"Nope. Try again," Elecmon said with a laugh.

"Is it…Palmon?"

"Not even close."

"Gatomon?" Patamon asked hopefully.

"You want me to just tell you?"

"Okay, fine. I give up, now who is it?"

"It's none other than Omnimon!"

"Omnimon?! Wow! We haven't seen him in ages! What's he doing coming here?"

"Well the way I heard it, he just finished taking care of some kind of trouble in the west quadrant. A whole bunch of Mojyamon had a beef with some Golemon…something about mining rights I believe. The thing's been going on for months and it could've become violent if Omnimon didn't take immediate action. At least that's what I've heard. Anyway, a few days of mediating things and Omnimon had settled the dispute. I guess after that and everything else he's been busy with lately, he's up for some r and r."

"Well it'll sure be nice to see him again. When does he arrive?"

"Tomorrow, I think."

"I can't wait to catch up. Can you imagine the stories he has to tell?"

"Don't sell yourself short, kid. You've got a few tales of your own. Remember the time that savage Kuwagamon attacked?'

"Oh come on. I bet Omnimon deals with problems ten times bigger than Kuwagamon every week!"

"Yeah, but he's also the strongest and wisest digimon in the whole world. Doesn't that make your accomplishments just as great as his?"

"Well…I guess so."

"Don't sell yourself short, kid."

"Hey! Who's Omnimon?" squeaked a small voice.

Patamon and Elecmon both turned to see the source of the cry. It was Jyarimon, a red, ball-shaped baby digimon with fringed ears and small black eyes. Patamon had seen a few of this kind of digimon in his time with Elecmon, but none of them were as much of a handful as this newest one.

"Omnimon is the digimon who watches over all of us and makes sure that nothing bad happens," said Patamon.

"Is he strong?" asked Jyarimon.

"Of course he is," Elecmon said with a chuckle.

"I'll bet he's not as tough as me!" Jyarimon asserted.

"Well, we may never know," Patamon said, stifling a laugh.

"Jyarimon, why don't you go play with some of your friends?" Elecmon suggested.

"Because I don't have any," was Jyarimon's rather snotty reply.

"Oh come on. I bet you have some," said Elecmon.

"No, I don't! They're all stupid anyway."

"Look, I'm sure that if you just try too—" Elecmon started.

"You know what? You're stupid too!"

And with that, Jyarimon bounded off into the woods.

"Poor kid," said Patamon. "He's such an outsider."

"It's strange," Elecmon said. "All the others I've ever seen of that species have been really sweet and well-adjusted, but they weren't the brightest bunch. This one seems to be just the opposite."

"Weird."

"Nah, not really. His species is actually pretty new and it's probably just branching out. I'll be interested to see how he digivolves."

"They first appeared in the south, didn't they? His species, I mean."

"Yeah, but oddly enough most that have been hatched have come from here."

"I hear there's lots of strange stuff in the southern quadrant."

"You don't know the half of it, kid. I went down there once and I tell ya' the Kurisarimon were a dime a dozen."

"Really? I've only ever heard about the one. I didn't know there were more of him out there."

"Oh yeah. I don't know how it happened exactly but those things just took a liking to the place and now they're all over."

"Strange."

"Kid, you haven't heard nothin' yet…"

As this went on, the sun shone down on the aged, scarred summit of Infinity Mountain, which was still surrounding the great crater left from the return of Protomon. That crater, which once seemed so alive, was now dead and inorganic again. It was no different from any other crater except for one key difference. On and around the great stone platform that once held the legendary White DigiEgg had been built a shrine in the Greco-Roman style wityh white large, marble columns and arches and a domed roof. To the select few who knew of it, it was called the Shrine of the Dark Incarnate. Inside the shrine's single, extensive chamber, which was decorated with statues and great murals and woven tapestries, sat the shrouded figure of the ever-youthful Gennai. He was deep in meditation in the very center of the room, where the light of the sun could filter through the dome directly onto him, encapsulating him in a pillar of light.

"Gennai…" a voice whispered on the wind.

He remained sitting, moving deeper and deeper into concentration.

"Gennai…" the voice repeated.

"I hear, my friend," Gennai said.

And with that, Gennai opened his eyes to find his consciousness somewhere completely removed from the shrine in the crater. It was a place he had been only a handful of times before. Everything was bathed in a dark blue light. He sat on one of countless stone platforms, all arranged close together but not actually touching; like a floor with dozens of wide, endlessly deep cracks in it. Before him was a single platform, much larger than and elevated above the others. A column of brighter bluish light rained down over the platform. This was the Dragon Gate, the old throne of Azulongmon.

"Gennai, we must speak," said a voice that seemed to echo from every corner.

The massive figure of Omnimon stepped from the darkness and onto the elevated platform, his armor shining in the light.

"Of course, old friend," Gennai said as he lifted his eyes to Omnimon.

"Listen carefully," Omnimon said, "for the time has drawn close again. I have sensed a great fluctuation as of late, building up stronger and stronger over the course of these past months."

"I too have sensed such a disturbance," said Gennai. "I hope you are free to tell me the nature of it."

"Alas, my knowledge is not so exact. Even though I possess the combined wisdom and knowledge of the Sovereigns, great volumes of Protomon's knowledge remain sealed away even from me, just as the bulk of his power has eluded me."

"Then we must begin to seek out the source of these fluctuations ourselves."

"Gennai, I am coming to File Island. I want you to call on the other Guardians to meet you at the Shrine of the Dark Incarnate. I will have much to tell you, and many quests to complete before we may know the true nature of this growing threat."

"I shall do your will, my friend."

"Also, I must ask you to find some old companions of mine. I fear I have lost track of them as a result of my incessant duties."

"Well, Patamon is still on the island. I must tell you that he has been developing marvelously and no doubt will be eager to see you again. I am not sure about the others, but I will know by the time of your arrival."

"Very good. I will see you soon enough."

Omnimon began to turn away from Gennai, but then stopped mid-stride.

"Is there something else?"

"I wish to ask a question," said Gennai.

"What is it, my friend?"

"Well…is it the one we've been waiting for? Could it be the one we've feared this whole time?"

"Do you want to know if we must prepare to face the Destroyer?"

"Yes, old friend. That is my concern."

"Then I'm afraid I cannot and must not answer."

"Must not…? But, why?"

"To form an answer at this early stage of the game would be foolhardy. If the foe that is coming into being is not the most hated and feared of that dark alliance, then this affair shall be settled soon enough. If it is true that the day of reckoning draws near…then I put my faith in our will to survive against all odds."

"Do you truly doubt in your ability to overcome the foe we may one day have to face?"

"I cannot say how strong the Destroyer may be. All I can do now is hone my skills and try to uncover the source of this disturbance."

"Then we must act as swiftly as possible. If this is indeed the Destroyer, then there may yet be time to stop him."

"These things have all been foreseen in ages past, and so shall they unfold now. Act quickly, friend, but also act quietly. If the growing threat becomes aware of our search it may shrink further into the shadows."

"I shall see you soon, Omnimon," Gennai said with a bow.

"Take care, Gennai."

Gennai's eyes shot open, and his consciousness was reunited with his body in the shrine. He calmly regained his composure and stood again

"Well?" asked a female voice from the shadows.

"He will arrive soon," said Gennai, turning to look at his companion. "But there are things we must do before his arrival. Come, we must rally the others."


	2. It's a Boy!

"Wow, it sounds like I really should get out more," Patamon said as he and Elecmon strolled through a small path near Primary Village. "You've been to so many places."

"Hey, you've had quite a few adventures yourself, kiddo," said Elecmon. "You've done more than I can imagine. Now I may have been a few places, but I like this one the best."

"But don't you ever want to go out there again? You know, relive it all?"

"Nah. I've got it good here. Besides, I'm too old for anymore of that stuff. Adventures are for the young."

"Hey, you're not that old."

"If you say so."

For a time, they said nothing. They strolled along under the warm sun, watching young digimon at play and eventually coming to rest in a small grove of trees with a few digieggs spread on the ground there.

"So how is your training coming?" asked Elecmon, sitting down on a fallen log.

"It's alright," said Patamon, taking a seat next to him. "You've seen me digivolve plenty of times."

"But you don't seem to be improving very much."

"Well how would you know? It's not like I'm anyone else that just digivolves and stays that way forever."

"True, true. But I understand that most of the other former DigiDestined digimon are able to sustain their Champion forms indefinitely, and some can even reach Ultimate. I'd hate to see you fall behind."

"Well maybe they aren't as busy as I am."

"If you insist, kid."

Just then they heard a rustling from a nearby tree, followed by a loud cry. A moment later they saw two forms of approximately equal size fall from the leaves and onto the ground. Patamon and Elecmon shot up and dashed over to where the objects had fallen, and quickly discovered it to be a now dazed Jyarimon and a digiegg with orange stripes and red dots.

"Jyarimon, what were you doing up in that tree?" asked Elecmon.

"I-I-I was just looking at this digiegg. Really, honest."

"Right," Elecmon said in an unconvinced tone.

"Wait, you mean this egg was up in that tree?" asked Patamon.

"Y-yes sir."

"Well that's odd. It's no wonder I didn't see it on my walk this morning. Looks ready to hatch."

"Strange indeed. I've never known digieggs to appear in trees, but I guess there's a first time for everything."

"See! I was up there to look at the egg. I thought it shouldn't be up there and I should try to get it down. I was smelling it and I guess a branch broke or something and…"

"Sounds like whoever's inside is anxious to come out," Patamon said as Jyarimon continued speaking.

"Well then give it a good rub and let's let 'im out," Elecmon said.

"Alright, here it goes," said Patamon as he started to rub the egg.

A crack appeared a moment later.

"Hey look! It's hatching…" cooed Patamon.

"What do you suppose it will be?" asked Elecmon.

Before Patamon could even set the egg down the whole top of the shell blasted ope"Hey look! It's hatching…" cooed Patamon.

"What do you suppose it will be?" asked Elecmon.

n and out shot an orange blur, striking Patamon on the nose and bouncing off.

"Ow! My nose! I think it broke my nose!" Patamon cried as he dropped the eggshell and stumbled back, clutching his reddened face.

"Where'd it go?" Elecmon asked frantically.

"Over there!" cried Jyarimon, bouncing up and down.

Elecmon dove in the direction that Jyarimon was pointing and began digging around in the tall grass. After a few seconds he caught sight of something but it instantly bounced up into the air and came down right on his head before bouncing away again. Elecmon rubbed the small bruise as he turned to see where the little critter had gone. Jyarimon was looking about in a state of confusion as Patamon kept on rubbing his nose.

"There he is!" Jyarimon shouted as he dove into a bush.

Again the orange blur shot out into the open, bouncing off Patamon, who had just managed to stand up again, and soaring right at Elecmon. Then, with his lightning-fast reflexes, Elecmon managed to snag the orange digimon from the air before it could smack into him. The little digimon struggled fiercely but it was no match for Elecmon's strength and calmed down shortly. Elecmon sat down with a sigh of relief as Patamon and Jyarimon wandered over to see the new arrival.

"Well that was more excitement than I was hoping for today," Patamon said, relieved that his nose was only bloodied, not broken.

"Man, that was SO cool!" Jyarimon cheered.

"I guess he was just a little more eager to get out than we thought," Elecmon chuckled.

"So what kind of digimon is it, anyway?" Patamon asked, coming in for a close look with Jyarimon.

"This is very strange indeed," said Elecmon. "I must say, I don't recognize this breed off the top of my head."

Patamon and Jyarimon were confused and then took a close look at the digimon in Elecmon's hands. It was a ball of orange fuzz with a tail about a foot in length wrapped around its body. It had a pair of feline ears protruding from atop its head and a wet, black, animal nose with whiskers in addition to its large, black eyes on the relatively hairless portion of its body that was its face.

"Gee, I've never see a digimon like that either," said Patamon. "I can't blame you for not knowing what it is."

"Now just hold your horses," Elecmon said, "I never said I was unfamiliar with this type of digimon. I just can't seem to recall at the moment what its name is. I do know, though, that one of them hasn't passed through here for a long time. A real long time."

"He looks neat!" said Jyarimon, leaning in close.

The new digimon lunged, opening its jaws to show a set of somewhat fearsome teeth, which he tried to sink into Jyarimon, but the lizard digimon fell over backward and out of harm's way.

"Wow. Kid's got quite a temper," Patamon said as the digimon curled its tail around its body even tighter than before.

"I've seen more sociable digimon in my time, that's for sure," said Elecmon. "But you know, this might actually help. I keep a copy of _The Great Big Book of Baby Digimon_, a list of every single baby digimon known to exist no matter how rare they are or even if they're believed to be extinct."

"Isn't it a bit long?" asked Patamon.

"Only fifteen volumes," said Elecmon. "And besides, it's organized by type. Does this little guy look like a mammal digimon to you?"

"Sure, but who's going to look after him while you perform your little search?"

Elecmon eyed Patamon.

"No. No, no, no. I, uh…have to catch up on my training. Yeah, that's it! Training!"

"Relax. It'll only take me a couple hours and then we'll know all about him and I can take him off your hands."

"He looks like he has rabies!"

"Then you'd better not get bitten."

"Hey! Check this out!" called Jyarimon.

Patamon and Elecmon turned toward the source of the sound. There was Jyarimon, his head stuffed inside the discarded but largely intact eggshell.

"Jyarimon! Get out of there!" Patamon scolded.

"No! Really! There's something in here!"

"Jyarimon, don't make me—"

Before Patamon could say any more a golden light began to shine through the eggshell and Jyarimon let out a yelp of surprise.

"Jyarimon!" Patamon shouted.

The eggshell completely cracked apart under a growing pressure from within. The light faded and there, amidst the broken pieces of egg, sat not Jyarimon, but his In-Training form, Gigimon. He was a stout, red digimon with four stubby legs, yellow eyes, and a large mouth. Sitting right in front of his nose was an object that Patamon almost didn't recognize at first.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Elecmon. "Wait, is that…?"

"Of course not," said Patamon. "It can't be. It's nothing. You just take care of our little friend there and I'll see about Jyarimon, uh, I guess it's Gigimon now."

"Right. You do that."

Patamon walked over to where Gigimon stood, admiring his new form.

"Wow! Check this out! This is so totally awesome! Hey Patamon, check me out! Patamon! Hey Patamon! Look at me, Patamon!"

Patamon was not paying attention to Gigimon, though. He was instead fixated upon the object sitting there among the shattered shell shards. At a distance he could at least pretend his eyes were playing tricks on him, but as he drew closer it became more and more obvious what the thing was. Finally, he was right on top of it.

"Elecmon, I need to be going now."

"What? But who's going to look after—"

"I'm sure you'll find someone to help you. I have got to go now. Patamon! Digivolve to…!"

A strong light overtook Patamon; he felt a surge of new data run through his veins. All was dark, and then in an instant he was transformed.

"…Angemon!"

A flurry of feathers drifted down around the Champion digimon. Without another word to Elecmon, Angemon grabbed the item from the ground, grasped it firmly in his hand, and took to the skies. Elecmon stared after Angemon as he vanished into the distance, en route to Infinity Mountain.

"Come on you two," he said finally. "We're going back to my place to learn who this little guy is."

Roughly half an hour later, Gennai and eight others in tan robes, each with a differently colored fringe, had gathered together in the Shrine of the Dark Incarnate within the Infinity Mountain crater. The others all stood in the shadows with their hoods over their heads while Gennai stood below the dome with his face showing. The nine Guardians had reconvened for the first time in a great while.

"Alright, Gennai," said one of the Guardians, a much bulkier male with yellow fringe on his robe, "why have you summoned us all here?"

"Obviously the situation must be dire, Malkis," said the female with red fringe from before. "It has been decades since we all stood in the same place…since that vile Piedmon attacked our facility."

"Don't be so certain, Elena," Malkis replied. "Gennai has always had a strange sense of humor. I'll bet he's doing this just to be cute."

"Let Gennai speak, fool," scolded a tall, thin man with gray fringe.

"And then there's Loki," said Malkis, "always so mature, always knows what everyone else should do."

"Shut up, worm," said Loki.

"Speaking of Piedmon," Gennai said before Malkis could counter, "I trust you have all recovered fully."

"Indeed we have," said Elena. "And I see that your youth is restored. Truly a shame what Piedmon did to you. You don't age well."

"Let's just hope I'm not forced to undergo that again," Gennai said with a smirk. "But we are not here to discuss ailments. I'm afraid Elena is right. The situation is…or may be dire."

"What is wrong?" asked a gruff, older man with white fringe and a gray beard.

"It is still unclear, Sir Kandack," said Gennai. "I regret I can tell you little at this point, but I felt you should all be aware of the possible danger that lies ahead."

"I knew it wasn't anything important," Malkis scoffed.

"Hold yourself, lad," Kandack advised. "Let us hear what news Gennai brings.

"I have been in contact with Lord Omnimon. He and I have sensed a fluctuation—a ripple if you will—in the Digital World. There is a great force on the move."

"I too have sensed this ripple," said Kandack.

"And I," said Elena.

"I haven't sensed a thing," said a youthful-sounding man with dark-blue fringe.

"I'm with Shin," said Malkis.

"Then you are both fools," said a middle-aged man with orange fringe.

"And you see things that aren't there, Tiresias," said Loki.

"Perhaps you just haven't been listening," said Elena.

"Please, we must not argue," said Kandack. "Now tell us, Gennai. Does Lord Omnimon know the source of the ripple?"

"My friends, it has been our sacred charge to raise the Sovereigns. Our goal is no different with Omnimon. He is wise and powerful, no doubt, but he is still growing into his position and he still needs our guidance. I fear he is as baffled as we are."

"Well what do you think, Gennai?" asked Shin.

"I can draw no conclusions; not yet. But I fear it is the Destroyer, risen again."

"I thought he was supposed to be eliminated by those DigiDestined you spent so much time praising," said Malkis.

"Regrettably, the vaunted Digimon Emperor released the Destroyer from the Dark Whirlpool shortly before his downfall."

"Humans. They do more damage than any digimon possibly could," Loki said with a smirk.

"Do not forget that it was humans that put a stop to the Dark Masters, the Deceiver, AND the Corrupter," Kandack pointed out. "Not to mention that entire incident with the D-Reaper."

"But it was a human who led the D-Reaper to Earth," Malkis countered.

"That is all well and good, but if the Destroyer walks among us then all of that shall be redone," said Shin.

"Not if we can find him before it is too late," said an older woman with green fringe on her robe. "We must discover what it is he seeks."

"Lady Minari may be right," said Tiresias.

"I think it should be fairly obvious, my lady," said Shin. "The prophecy says it all. He's looking to finish that whole Grand Scheme thing. The Deceiver and the Corrupter already laid the groundwork with the Vanguard. All he needs to do now is discover _the Fifth Eye_."

"Possibly," said Elena. "The prophecy is not very specific though, and I doubt any of us can remember it with any great detail."

"Elena is right," said Tiresias, "we cannot afford to underestimate this foe."

"Nor can we overestimate him," said Loki. "If this is not the Destroyer we have heard so much about then we may be distracted and unable to handle the multitude of other problems in our world.

"I say we hunt down the Vanguard," said Malkis. "Without them, there will be no one to guide this Destroyer."

"We cannot act hastily in this matter, friend," said Kandack.

"One minute you're telling me we need to act quickly and the next you say to hold on? Make up your minds!"

"We must act quickly, Malkis. Not hastily," Gennai advised. "If we attack blindly we may walk into his hands."

"Please, Gennai. What else did Lord Omnimon say?" Minari asked.

"He himself is coming to this very place. He has many duties for us to fulfill in order to find out the nature of this plot. We will take no action until he arrives one day from now."

"Then we must do just that," said the last of the nine Guardians, a tall man with a calm yet powerful voice whose robe had purple fringe.

The other Guardians all fell in line immediately upon hearing that voice, for it was the voice of Virgil, the wisest and oldest of their order, and their unofficial leader.

"As you wish, Lord Virgil," said Malkis.

"We shall remain patient as you request," said Loki.

"Wait. I sense someone approaching," Shin announced suddenly.

"It is a digimon," said Elena, "but who?"

A second later the doors to the shrine were pushed open and in stepped the shimmering figure of Angemon.

"Fear not, friends. I know this digimon well," said Gennai.

"Then please, invite him in," said Minari.

Gennai walked briskly toward Angemon, the other Guardians stepping out of his way. Angemon too walked forward with an urgent pace as the doors behind him slid shut of their own volition. The two met, exchanging more or less warm greetings.

"What brings you here, dear friend?" asked Gennai.

"Unsettling news, Gennai," said Angemon. "Deeply troubling, I fear."

"What has happened?"

"A short time ago, a digimon unlike any I have ever seen was hatched in primary village."

"That is not so unusual. I am sure there are many types of digimon that you are unfamiliar with."

"In its egg, I found this."

With that, Angemon shoved his hand before Gennai, opening his fingers and revealing the object he had picked up earlier.

"What?! This is impossible!" Gennai asserted.

"But it's very real," said Angemon.

Gennai nervously placed his hand in Angemon's and took the item. He brought it up to his face and looked at it very closely. There could be no doubt. This was in fact a digivice. It was an older model, not as sophisticated as a D-3, but it looked to be brand new and in marvelous working order.

"Where is the digimon now?" asked Gennai.

"I believe it is still with Elecmon," said Angemon.

"Can you describe it for me?"

"Well, it was orange and fury with this long tail and it had a very nasty disposition."

"Oh dear. The first sign."

"What? First sign?"

"Angemon, you must take me to this digimon immediately. Shin! Come and take this device from me! I will leave it here. Make absolutely sure that nothing happens to it! Lord Virgil, forgive me but on this matter I cannot wait."

"If you cannot wait, then you will not," said Virgil. "Shin, do as he requests."

Shin approached and accepted the digivice from Gennai.

"Now, Angemon. Quickly!" said Gennai.

"Aha! I found it!" Elecmon announced. "Hey, that was a lot easier than I thought it'd be."

Not long after Angemon's meeting with the Guardians, Elecmon sat in his little shack with sunlight streaming in through the window and one of a large set of books open before him. On the page he was looking at was a sketch of a digimon that bore a strong resemblance to the one that had just hatched as well as a few pages containing everything he could want to know about the little guy's species.

Elecmon looked up to call Gigimon and the other digimon over to him, but as soon as he did he saw that neither of them was in the shack with him. Noticing that the door was ajar, Elecmon dashed out the front. His moment of panic subsided when he saw Gigimon and the mystery digimon right outside, playing with each other and apparently having a great time. The new digimon bounced along after Gigimon, trying to catch his older playmate. Elecmon just smiled to himself and sat down in the shade to watch over the young digimon as they played.

As Elecmon sat, nearly napping, the new digimon managed to catch Gigimon, pinning him to the dirt. Both were laughing very heartily and causing quite a ruckus. Once they had both calmed down a bit they sat down, looking at each other.

"Hey, you're a lot of fun," said Gigimon. "No one else'll play with me, but you're different."

The new digimon gave a happy nod.

"Hey, how come you don't say anything?"

This was met with a shrug, as it were.

"Well at least tell me what that weird thing in your egg was!"

Another shrug.

"Well, okay. Hey! Wanna' see who can bounce the highest?"

Another nod.

"Okay! Here we go! Three…two…one…go!"

And off they went, trying to out-bounce one another. Gigimon looked to be losing though, given his new in-elasticity. While this proceeded, the figure of Angemon came into view over the tree line. He came in fast and hit the ground running. Gennai, who had been holding onto Angemon's back for the entire trip, let go and dropped to the ground as Angemon skidded to a stop.

"Oh, hey there," Elecmon said with a yawn. "You're back, kid, and I see you brought a friend."

"Elecmon, have you learned the digimon's identity?" Angemon asked in a very serious tone.

"Oh yes, the book had some great detail on him. His is quite an interesting breed. It's been decades since another like him passed through here."

"Angemon, you consult with Elecmon," Gennai said. "I must speak with the young one."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Elecmon scoffed.

Taking no heed of Elecmon's comment, Gennai approached the playing digimon.

"So let me see this book," said Angemon.

"Sure. It's right in here," Elecmon said as he got up and walked toward his shack.

Inside, Angemon began to study the writings on this new digimon in great detail. From what he read, it was named Mogumon and it was a data type. As he'd already discovered they tend to be very anti-social in their earliest forms and this could be either the cause or result of an apparent unwillingness or inability to speak. It would be in that earliest form that many of their later traits would develop, as many of the more vicious youths would grow into fearsome warrior digimon while the tame ones had great potential as healers. Angemon also discovered that the digimon had been linked to grave misfortune, mostly by superstition. Still, they were usually only born prior to great disasters in such notable times as the emergence of Daemon or the rise of the Dark Masters.

"It's really quite sad," Elecmon said as Angemon finished reading. "These digimon are feared because they're so connected to disaster. I've even heard of them being attacked because of that superstition."

"I can think of at least one good reason to give them a good smack," Angemon said, remembering his bloodied nose.

"I don't know. He seems nice enough now."

"Oh?"

"Seems he and Gigimon have taken a shine to one another."

"Well that's good news. Yep. Real, real good…"

Angemon trailed off. He was clearly somewhere else. Elecmon stared at him out of the corner of his eye for a moment, trying to determine what was happening behind that steel mask. Finally he spoke up. "Angemon, was that thing that came out of the egg…was it a digivice?"

"Yeah."

"But what does that mean?"

Angemon looked to be in deep thought for a moment before replying. "I don't know."

"What does Gennai think?"

"It's put him on edge, that's for sure. I haven't seen him this nervous in quite some time, but I suspect he has other things on his mind as well."

"What's going on, Angemon? First we hear that Omnimon is coming to our little island and then Mogumon shows up with digivice. Somehow I doubt the two are just a coincidence. Something is happening here, Angemon."

"Omnimon is a righteous leader and an eternal friend. When he arrives I have no doubt that he will explain what he can. You must believe that."

"Maybe I just don't know him as well as you, kid. I hope you're right; I hope he does have some explanation for this Mogumon and his digivice."

While this had transpired, Gennai tried to speak to Mogumon with little success. He and Gigimon had stopped their little game and now Gigimon sat quite still, looking up at Gennai with his large, round eyes, and Mogumon hid behind his older companion. Gennai sat before them, cross-legged and showing a great deal of patience.

"Do not be alarmed at the sight of me, children," Gennai advised them. "I may be a strange sight to behold, but I am quite friendly. Please, sit closer."

"Just who the heck do you think you are?" barked Gigimon.

"Please, forgive me. I am Gennai, one of the nine Guardians and adviser to Lord Omnimon."

"Omnimon, huh? I've heard of him."

"That is good, young friend. You see I have come from him on an important errand. I must speak with your friend there; Mogumon."

"Your name's Mogumon?" Gigimon asked, looking over his shoulder at his friend.

Mogumon, though, looked rather suspicious of Gennai's motives and refused to budge an inch.

"Please, I just want to know more about the digivice. Surely you can tell me that much."

Mogumon replied with the fiercest snarl he could muster, which really sounded only slightly more menacing than a purring kitten. Still, the message was clear.

"Sounds like he doesn't want to talk," said Gigimon, "so why don't you just back off already?"

Gennai looked back and forth between the two digimon, studying their eyes carefully. After a few seconds he realized the depth of their seriousness, and he stood up again. "Thank you for your time," he said with a bow. "I wish you a pleasant day."

Gennai then turned about and walked toward Elecmon's shack, at the door to which were Angemon and Elecmon. Gennai came to a stop in front of them a few seconds later, a strange little smile on his face.

"You know, it's strange," he said. "These days it seems the only digimon willing to challenge me do so out of the innocence of youth. I can't remember the last time you argued with anything I've said, Angemon."

This caused Angemon to blush slightly, but he hid it well.

"So what did you learn?" asked Elecmon.

"They told me nothing, but that in itself spoke volumes. Angemon, I want you to return me to the shrine and when you come back down you will bring the digivice with you. You are to leave it in Mogumon's hands; I believe him to be its proper owner after all. Tomorrow, once Omnimon has arrived, I want you to return to the shrine with Mogumon and the digivice. Omnimon may have the answers to this riddle."

As these mysteries revealed themselves on File Island, a problem of greater immediate concern had popped up deep in the Server continent, past the vast desert and over the rolling hills and valleys of the highlands. A pillar of black smoke could be seen rising into the sky from miles around in the grasslands of southern Server. Dozens of digimon, all of different types but all of them Rookies or younger scrambled to flee their village. The wood and stretched leather huts had been set to the flame and now the digimon that had done this was reveling in his success, as merciless and contemptible as it was.

"Burn! Burn! Everything burn!" the digimon, a Meramon, shouted amidst his maniacal laughter.

More digimon fled from the inferno, but the vile Meramon, took little notice of them. By the looks of it, his only concern was breeding discord and sorrow, not death. Still, that was too much for one nearby digimon to stand.

"Meramon, stop this madness at once!" a confident voice shouted.

Meramon turned his head to look over the shoulder, spotting a thin, humanoid figure perched atop one of the blazing tents.

"Ah, I see someone wants to play with fire…"

"I will NOT warn you again!" the mysterious digimon barked. "End this and surrender and I will do you now harm. Fight back and I can make no such promise."

"Hah! Sorry, weakling, but I don't answer to you. My orders are to bring the flame to this land and spread it over everything I can see. Looks like you're next on the list."

"So be it, creature!"

In a flash the shadowy digimon's insectoid wings sprouted and he charged forward. He passed through the wall of flame that had surrounded him and burst into the virtually untouched center of the village. There he was, bathed in a fiery glow: Stingmon. He moved in fast, ramming his foot into Meramon's jaw and launching him backward through a flaming tent. Stingmon landed and dug his feet into the soil. He quickly got into a defensive stance and watched the flames for signs of his opponent. He didn't have to wait long though, as Blue Meramon plowed his way back into the open a moment later, engulfed and strengthened by the inferno he had spawned. Meramon had his fists clasped together above his head as he lunged for Stingmon. Stingmon quickly stepped to the side as Meramon threw all his weight into the blow and dodged his opponent. Meramon stumbled from the missed blow and Stingmon saw his chance.

"Spiking Strike!"

With one decisive blow, Stingmon's blade had pierced Meramon through the back and popped out in the center of his chest.

"In service…to the flame," Meramon managed to choke out just before his body disintegrated and his data was scattered to the wind.

"Poor creature…" Stingmon sighed as he stood and dusted himself. The sounds of burning wood and the smell of the smoke seemed more potent now than before. "Why? How could this have happened?"

Stingmon's thoughts turned away from the blaze for now, as there was no way for him to stop it alone. His mind was busy on Meramon. That digimon had first appeared a week ago and begun torching the nearby villages and forests. Stingmon had hoped to get some answers once he found the devious digimon, but once he did there were none for him. He was even more confused and worried than before, owing largely to Meramon's claim of being under orders.

"This is very confusing," he said to himself. "I should speak with Exveemon immediately."

But even as Stingmon sought out his old friend and before the fires in that village had died down, there was an insidious force on the move, already keenly aware of Meramon's failure.

"_Born and reborn,_

I live once more.

Let all worlds mourn

And feel the infernal downpour."

These were the musings of a raspy, venomous voice. The foul aroma of decay permeated the atmosphere of that place, that crypt. Pools of magma provided only minimal illumination and their heat mixed violently with the frigid claws of death that hung in the air. In the darkness, unseen apparitions slithered and snaked around one another. Everywhere there was the feeling of being in the presence of living death.

"Enter…" said the dry voice, having sensed a lesser being at the grand entryway.

"H-hail, master," squeaked the digimon, a mere ToyAgumon. "Please, I mean no disrespect in coming here. I b-beg your forgiveness and I most definitely—"

"SILENCE!"

The ToyAgumon fell silent and also fell on his backside. He was too terrified to move, despite his urgent wish to return to the great hall outside of this chamber.

"Why have you come?"

The ToyAgumon took a large gulp of air and nearly choked on the smell of decay and brimstone. He almost felt like crying but he knew he had to push on and deliver his message. "MeramonhasbeendefeatedanditwasdonebyaStingmoncanIgonow?"

"You have brought me no information of which I was unaware."

ToyAgumon's eyes opened wide and he very nearly soiled himself. "Forgive me, master! The others made me do it! I told them you must already know this but they forced me! Oh please, master!"

"This display is pitiful. Get out."

ToyAgumon breathed a small sigh of relief, but he remained motionless, still too terrified to move.

"NOW!"

ToyAgumon's terror quickly shifted gears and he scrambled to leave as fast as he could. He clawed his way back toward the great hall, but something shone in the darkness behind him. When he was only a foot away from the great doors the thing made its move. In only a fraction of a second it had lurched forward and struck, piercing all the way through Toyagumon's puny body. 

"Your pitiful appearance would have worked," the voice snickered, "but it seems I have no pity."

Rather than allowing the data to simply dissipate into the atmosphere, the foul creature from which the voice came called it back to him. ToyAgumon's data was added to the creature's own, and it made him stronger.

"_Hear me, whelps of steel_

And flesh and bone.

To defy me is to seal

Your fate, let it be known."

===============================================================

[Be sure to keep an eye out for the picture of Mogumon at the usual place, and don't forget to review. Until next time…]


	3. Orders from On High

**Day 2**

Elecmon woke in very much his normal pattern. He got up, scratched an itch, stretched, and stepped outside to meet Angemon, who had supplied the fish for the second day in a row. They talked as they strolled down to the Primary Village. This morning, though, they took a small detour and went to the sizeable nursery first. It was a low building just outside the center of the village and was painted in bright colors with charming pictures, just like everything else in the village. Inside, as normal, were dozens of dozing digimon in small clusters. Angemon and Elecmon kept silent as they stepped around the piles of baby digimon, and they finally found what they were looking for. They came across two digimon, Jyarimon and Mogumon, who were all alone, isolated from the rest as had seemed their pattern thus far. Angemon and Elecmon had been expecting this of course, but it was a bit disappointing nonetheless. Naturally, Mogumon was holding on tight to his digivice. It was on that note that Angemon and Elecmon turned and left as silently as they had entered.

They passed the next few hours in the way they always did, tending to the baby digimon and talking. Their conversations revolved around Mogumon mainly but they also touched on Omnimon's immanent arrival a few times. In spite of the irregular circumstances, it was a surprisingly run-of-the-mill day. The weather was cloudy but there was no rain or wind. Underneath the dull atmosphere, though, there was a hidden tension. The two of them were more on-edge than normal, but neither of them showed it.

Around noon, Elecmon realized what time it was and reminded Angemon of his appointment. Angemon thanked his friend for drawing his attention to the time and sped off to Infinity Mountain to await Omnimon.

"Where is he?" Malkis wondered out loud.

"The appointed time draws near. We should at least perceive him by now," said Minari.

"Steady yourselves," Kandack advised. "Omnimon is a clever one. He will be travelling incognito so that our foe's agents will not be able to sense his movements."

The nine Guardians were still in the shrine in the Infinity Crater waiting for Omnimon, some more patiently than others.

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling," said Shin.

"You're simply nervous," said Elena. "Relax."

"I am certain he will be arriving presently," said Gennai. "This discussion will not help time pass any faster."

"Gennai is right, of course. Come," said Kandack, "we should calm our minds. It is the prospect of what news Omnimon's arrival may bring that has us in this excited state. Let us gather again to meditate as we used to."

"Right," the others agreed.

And so the Guardians set about their meditating, but there was another place far away where no one had the time to relax like the Guardians did. That place was known as the concrete jungle, home of the great rat race, or more commonly Tokyo. It was there that Ken Ichijouji, after a long night out on the streets, was sitting down to a cup of coffee at the counter in a little diner he stopped at regularly. As he struggled to keep his eyes in focus while looking over the morning paper he became quite certain that his schedule was slowly but surely killing him. Working from eight at night until dawn out on the streets and then trying to spend time with his fiancée was a lot harder than he'd thought it would be, but with any luck at all he'd have some more reasonable hours in two to twelve months.

"Well hey there! If it isn't my favorite copper!" a male voice called out from the door.

Ken looked over his shoulder and saw Davis standing there wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in stark contrast to Ken's uniform.

"Davis? What are you doing around here?"

"Oh, you know me," Davis said as he hopped up onto the stool next to Ken's, "I'm a free spirit. I stop and smell the roses. I like to people watch. I like to explore the urban wilderness. I—"

"Got fired again?" Ken interrupted.

"Bingo."

"Coffee?"

"Sure."

"Miss?" Ken called to the waitress behind the counter. "A cup of joe for my pal here."

"Coming right up," said the waitress, a blonde in her mid-twenties.

"So should I ask?" Ken wondered without looking away from his paper.

"I didn't think there was any way I could screw up," Davis said. "As it turns out there was just no NEW way."

"I don't think I want to hear this."

"You'd think I would've learned to take a good look around before I started badmouthing my boss."

"Now I know I don't want to hear it."

"I think that would be best."

"So where've you been for the last few days, Davis? I haven't been able to get in contact with you but you haven't returned any of my calls or e-mails."

"It's the weirdest thing. I've been working most of the time, my answering machine broke and my Internet connection is down. Basically I've been cut off from the real human world."

"Gee, that's a shame," Ken said nonchalantly as he turned the page of his newspaper. "I guess you didn't hear the big news…"

"Huh?" Davis grunted, his ears perking up. "Big news? What big news?"

"Hmm…I don't know if I should tell you now."

"Come on, man. Just tell me."

"Well it seems kind of weird to say such big news in a diner…"

"Would you spit it out already?"

"I don't know if I want you standing up or sitting down for this; sitting down is good if you get lightheaded. On the other hand, standing is better for freaking out."

"Freaking out? Why would I be freaking out? Come on! Tell me!"

"Here you go, sir," the waitress said as she set Davis' coffee down in front of him.

"Well this is the kind of thing some people get a little worked up over."

"Tell me!"

"I don't think you get how big this news is."

"Please, Ken! I'm beggin' you here!"

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you."

"Finally," Davis said, grabbing his coffee off the counter and taking a sip.

"I'm marrying Yolei in a couple months."

Davis' eyes bulged and the coffee he hadn't quite swallowed ushered forth from his lips like an erupting geyser. Just as his coffee sprayed forward, Davis fell backward off the stool and landed on his back on the linoleum.

"MARRIED?!"

"Jeez, Davis," Ken said as he looked over his fallen friend. "Learn to control yourself. I can't have my best man tripping over himself, can I?"

"You're getting MARRIED?!" Davis shouted as he hopped back to his feet. "That's not BIG news! That's HUGE, COLOSSAL, um…GIGUNDO news! When?! How?! Wait…did you say best man?!"

"I thought you'd like that," Ken said with a weird little smile as he drank his coffee.

"Well come on! You and I need to go out and party or something! Seriously, how often do you get engaged?"

"Sorry, no can do."

"What?!"

"I've been working all night. I just came in here to get a little coffee and read the paper. Once I'm done here I'm going to stop in to see Yolei at the store for a few minutes and then I'm going back to my place to get reacquainted with Mr. Sandman."

"Hey, you just had a full cup of coffee! You'll be up for hours yet!"

"Are you kidding? I needed this so I'd have just enough energy to get me to the store and then back home."

"You see? I told you this would happen."

"Huh?"

"I told you that as soon as we stopped being roomies we wouldn't see each other anymore."

"Oh come on, that's not true."

"Ken, you've been engaged for days and I just now heard about it."

"Point taken."

"Look, if you can't hang out today then how about Friday? Come on, we'll get together with some of the old guys. How long has it been since we all hung out together?"

"Well…I'm not about to make any promises. But sure, we'll hang out sometime soon."

"Great!"

"Well, look," Ken said as he downed the last of his coffee and folded his newspaper, "I had better get going. See you in a few days?"

"I can't wait!" Davis said enthusiastically. "I'll call up some of the guys and see who can come."

"See ya'."

Back in the Digital World, the Guardians were suddenly awakened from their meditation. They sensed a power of awesome magnitude approaching very quickly. It seemed to have come from out of nowhere, appearing right on top of them.

"He is here," said Minari.

In the next instant a beam of blue light pierced the clouds over Infinity Mountain, tearing an enormous circle in the overcast sky. Descending through the center of that great pillar of light was the shadowy silhouette of Omnimon, the living embodiment of the Sovereigns and chief protector of the Digital World. His form moved down into the aging crater toward the shrine. A moment later he materialized within the grand structure beneath the great dome, which was easily high enough to accommodate his incredible size.

"Greetings Omnimon, my dear friend," Gennai said warmly.

"And the same to you," said Omnimon, "but I see we are joined by others. So these are the nine Guardians. I'm sorry to say I have not met all of you in person. I believe I should be able to identify you by reputation though."

"Lord Omnimon, I regret that we have been unable to contact you. A new complication has arisen," said Elena.

"A digimon was born here yesterday," said Loki. "He had a digivice with him."

"A digivice that we did not create," added Tiresias. "All the equipment for creating such tools was destroyed ten years ago in the catastrophic battle with the Corrupter."

"That is indeed unsettling," said Omnimon. "And you are certain you nine are the only ones that know how to create the digivices?"

"Quite certain," said Malkis.

"Then obviously it was created by one of you," said Omnimon.

"What? Preposterous!" Shin exclaimed.

"Either it was made by one of you nine or there must be someone else who knows how to create them."

"Omnimon speaks the truth," said Virgil. "It would behoove a number of you to learn from his wise example."

"So if it wasn't one of us, then who?" asked Kandack.

"I believe we have become distracted from the main point," said Gennai. "The digimon that carries the device is of an exceptionally rare breed. I believe his appearance may be an omen."

"An omen, you say?" asked Omnimon.

"Yes," said Gennai. "A thousand years ago, as Protomon lay dying, he prophesied numerous important events which we have already seen unfold. His descriptions were often very enigmatic, however, and only a very few written records remain of what he said. The prophecy that is of greatest significance to us is the so-called Triadic Verse, which we believe has foretold the return of the Deceiver, the Corrupter, and the Destroyer. Reviewing the prophecy has allowed us to see how Protomon's descriptions of key indicators were meant to reveal the immanent coming of each of them."

"We've spent the last ten years trying to interpret the meaning of the prophecy concerning the Destroyer," said Tiresias. "We were quite baffled in the beginning. How did it go again? Oh yes, I remember now." He cleared his throat loudly. "_Forgotten beasts of flame and fang howl his accursed name. A twin paradox encircles itself, pursued by a demonic entourage. A sun rises; a moon falls. Fang combats bone, steel combats stone. A feigned fatality in the Grand Scheme of things. A sun rises; a moon shatters. The Fifth Eye opens and a tear of blood falls._"

"Yes, that does seem familiar to me," said Omnimon. "Perhaps the part of me that is Protomon recalls that prophecy. I only wish I was able to recall its meaning."

"Don't worry, Omnimon," said Gennai. "We have spent much time in studying it and we believe we understand the bulk of it. For example, we believe those 'forgotten beasts of fang and flame' are large, powerful beast digimon that base their strength around the elemental force of fire, such as the later forms of Mogumon, or perhaps that Gigimon friend of his. As for the 'accursed name,' we believe that to signify the Destroyer."

"And what of this twin paradox? And the demonic entourage?" Omnimon asked.

"We were initially very puzzled," said Kandack. "However, as we reviewed earlier portions of the prophecies, recognized certain patterns and made some inferences we have come to the conclusion that the twin paradox will be two intertwined heroes. Possibly human, possibly digimon, but most likely a partnership. They will walk very different and sometimes self-contradictory paths but they'll come together in the end to face the Destroyer."

"The demonic entourage should be very obvious," said Loki. "Legend has it that the Destroyer was the cruelest, strongest, and highest of all demon digimon ever to be spawned. Some say that gave him the right to control the very minds of all his subordinate demon digimon. If that's the case then it stands to reason that he would have an entire army of them at his disposal and if he knew of the prophecy, which he most certainly has heard of through the Vanguard, then he would send that legion after the would-be heroes."

"The next two lines should be fairly clear," said Shin. "The sun and moon images are often used in ancient texts to signify the passage of time, ranging from a few days to several years. In any case, after that time has passed there will be a fearsome battle. We're certain that the next line describes its outcome but we cannot tell whether it is for good or ill, since the context is vague. We do, however, believe that it has something to do with the Grand Scheme mentioned by the Corrupter in your battles against him."

"Again, more time will pass," said Gennai, "but at the end of that time there will be a great catastrophe. This brings us to the final line of this particular prophecy. This more than anything else about Protomon's prophecies has vexed us. A similar line appears at the end of every prior prophecy, but in every instance it is '_The Fifth Eye dreams and a tear of rain falls_.' Even more puzzling is that this '_Fifth Eye_' is not mentioned again in any of the known prophecies."

"And we have no idea what this symbol is?" asked Omnimon.

"Not a clue," said Elena.

"It sure would be easier if Protomon had spoken like a normal digimon," said Malkis. "He didn't even give us a timeframe. What kind of prophet knows the future and doesn't tell anyone?"

"He revealed what he knew he should reveal," said Omnimon, "and if you must know, he was not more specific because he couldn't be. Protomon knew the future only in the broadest sense. No one could see the specifics, since there is the element of free will present in all things. Protomon's predictions will be brought about but it can happen in almost any way. If we sit back and trust in fate to defeat our enemies for us then many more lives will be lost than if we take action. Protomon knew our collective fate, but we must decide on the details."

"Well put, Lord Omnimon," said Virgil. "I sense you tapped into your knowledge of Protomon for such a response."

"I am one with him, Master Virgil. I know how his mind worked if nothing else."

"Now, Lord Omnimon," Virgil said solemnly, "I believe we have stolen too much of your time and tempted fate long enough. You have come here with your own orders for us to fulfill."

"You are right, of course," said Omnimon. "I have called you together because now is the time to protect our world again, but brute strength will not win this war. We must discover the source of the fluctuations that I have sensed in our world.

"Loki, I need you to go to the western quadrant. Scour the cities; delve into the inner workings of that place; leave no stone unturned. If there is an evil force on the move anywhere in that quadrant I am certain it will reveal itself in the loose tongues of thieves and other common villains. I will send Kandack with you. Perhaps his wisdom and directness can deliver what your wit and guile cannot. In any case, I hope that he may temper your ego; I believe it has grown since our last meeting."

"If that is your will, Lord Omnimon," said Loki.

"We will not disappoint," said Kandack.

"Passionate Shin and learned Tiresias, I am sending you both out into this eastern quadrant. I believe you may be able to easily gain the trust of the villagers and wild digimon here. If anything is to be learned in this part of the Digital World I can assure you it can be learned from them."

"Yes, sir!" Shin said enthusiastically.

"The winds of fate blow in an odd direction this day," said Tiresias. "Perhaps they will show me the path."

"The vast, unexplored territories of the south can be very dangerous," said Omnimon. "Malkis, I am sending you out alone to learn what you can. I am confident in your strength and even more so in your uncanny ability to draw yourself into others' confidence with a great deal of ease, when you try that is."

"Great," said Malkis. "I'll leave right away."

"I am not done yet," said Omnimon. "Elena will also travel to the south with you, but I have a special task for her. She is to investigate the Sovereign temples, especially the Phoenix Gate. I believe there may be a key piece of information there that we are missing."

"By your will, Omnimon," said Elena.

"Minari, that of course means you will be travelling to the north. I know you spend much time there and have the trust of important digimon in every northern city. It will be a difficult prospect, so I will send Gennai to assist you as soon as I have concluded my business with him."

"I understand," said Minari.

"What of Master Virgil?" asked Gennai.

"I must seek Virgil's wisdom in this time of crisis, so he and I will remain together for the time being," said Omnimon. "Before you leave, I want a word with you in private though, Gennai. The rest of you may depart at your own discretion."

"No point in hanging around here, I guess," said Malkis. "Coming, Elena?"

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up," she said.

"Suit yourself." Malkis was momentarily surrounded by a beam of light and then vanished.

"Come along, Loki," said Kandack. "We have no time to waste if we seek to overcome this villain."

"Right behind you," said Loki.

The two of them disappeared in the same manner as Malkis.

"We'll discover the source of these fluctuations soon enough," Shin said.

"Seems my search for the Truth will have to wait," said Tiresias, "as I search for facts. I'll try not to disappoint."

Those two were gone in a flash.

"I'll be expecting you soon, Gennai," said Minari. "The north is a big place and I can't cover it all on my own." Minari too disappeared.

"Gennai?" asked Elena. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Certainly," said Gennai.

Gennai and Elena walked off together into one of the shrine's secluded corners.

"There is more troubling you than you let on, Omnimon," said Virgil.

"You speak the truth as always, o wise one," Omnimon replied.

"Not necessarily the truth, friend. Only what is needed."

"I find myself perplexed by these happenings. I fear that ten are not enough to uncover the secret maneuverings of the Destroyer."

"Patience. You must learn patience. What we must know will reveal itself."

"I swore to myself that I would allow them all to live normal, peaceful lives. I swore to take up the burden myself so that they wouldn't have to."

"You speak of course of your old friends and allies, the other DigiDestined digimon."

"I have considered asking for their help in this situation. I trust them implicitly, even more than I trust you Guardians."

"And rightly so. They have done much to earn your trust. You put your life in their hands on dozens of occasions."

"But that's the part of me that used to be Agumon and Gabumon. The part of me that is made up of Protomon and the Sovereigns tells me that they have earned their peace and that I should not bother them with such concerns, especially if they prove to be unfounded."

"When the time comes for that decision you must trust that you will do what is right, my friend."

"There is more."

"You mean the prophecy?"

"Yes."

"Don't let it consume you. You should be aware of what comes next, but not consumed by it. The present is what you should concern yourself with. Remember: patience."

"I don't know, it just seems like…"

"If these things worry you so, I recommend sending an agent to learn more about them."

Even as this conversation proceeded, Gennai and Elena had been speaking with one other on a more personal level.

"Gennai, I have a bad feeling about all of this," said Elena.

"No kidding," he replied, "there's something wrong. Very wrong."

"So you sensed it too."

"There's something more here than any of us can determine at this time. I believe that whatever we may soon be facing is not as it appears."

"You've developed a keen sense for deceit over the years," said Elena, "and I have no reason to argue with you."

"Do you think Virgil knows?"

"If he does he seems to have dismissed it. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to bring it up, though."

"Elena, we must not be afraid to confront him. He may be wiser than any of us but we cannot follow blindly."

"Gennai…do I detect a hint of mistrust? Even for Virgil?"

"That digivice is too peculiar to ignore. No one but us could have made it."

"Are you actually suggesting there could be a traitor among us? Gennai, if you're wrong it could tear our already fragile group apart!"

"That's why I don't want you to mention this to anyone. Listen, you go. Keep one eye on your work and the other on Malkis. I'll join Minari soon. However, I'll want to contact some old friends shortly. They will draw less attention than I, and I have absolute confidence in their abilities."

"Just promise you won't make the situation any worse," said Elena.

"I'll do my best," said Gennai.

"That wasn't as reassuring as I'd hoped," Elena said as she too disappeared like the others before her.

Just as Elena vanished there came the sound of footsteps echoing in from the entrance. Gennai quickly rejoined Omnimon and Virgil and found both of them watching the approaching figure of Angemon.

"Omnimon!" Angemon cried out.

"Patamon? It is you!" Omnimon said in an overjoyed tone. "I see you've done some growing up."

"Hello again, Angemon," said Gennai. "I think we would all appreciate it if you were not the bearer of further bad news."

"Actually, I just wanted to see Omnimon," said Angemon. "It's been too long."

"That it has," said Omnimon, "but don't tell me you're the only one who came!"

"Well, I'm the only one left on the island," said Angemon.

"Really? Where have the others all gone?"

"It's hard to say. We're spread all over, and I was hoping you would know more than me."

"Regrettably, I do not," said Omnimon. "I suppose I must amuse myself with learning how you alone have passed the years."

"You seem concerned, Gennai," Virgil whispered as Omnimon and Angemon began to catch up after so long.

"It is nothing, Master Virgil."

"Nonsense. I am old, not blind. I sense doubt."

"Trust me; it's none of your concern."

"If that is what you insist upon. But let me assure you I have had the same doubts as of late."

"What?"

"I've known you all for ten centuries, Gennai. I can read your face just as easily as my own. I know what you worry about, but rest assured your doubt is off target."

"I hope so," Gennai whispered back. "But until I am certain…"

Far removed from to secret goings-on at File Island, a battle raged. In one corner, with a trail of destruction behind him, there was the terrifying Tyrannomon. In the other corner, standing ready to attack and only two hundred feet away, was the awesome Exveemon. The two opponents glared at each other for a few moments. Exveemon was standing on a rocky mantle, elevated in comparison to the surrounding terrain by roughly ten feet. Tyrannomon stood before the scorching remains of yet another village, now reduced to ash.

"Alright, Tyrannomon! Give up or you're done!" Exveemon shouted.

The Tyrannomon only let out a ferocious roar in response, which was just enough to make Exveemon feel a little less confident.

"You asked for it!" Exveemon shouted as he took off on a direct course for Tyrannomon.

As Exveemon approached, Tyrannomon opened his jaws again, but more came out this time than a roar. A cluster of four fireballs exploded from the great beast's belly, all aimed at Exveemon. Exveemon rolled out of the way of the first one and punched away the second and third ones, leaving his approach unabated. The fourth fireball though struck Exveemon dead-on, causing him to pause and leaving some scorching on his face. Exveemon landed, not yet having reached his target.

"That the best you got?!" shouted Exveemon.

The Tyrannomon roared again. This time Exveemon could even feel the monster's hot, moist breath.

"Jeez! You need a mint or something!" Exveemon announced.

Apparently Tyrannomon didn't find that quite as funny as Exveemon did and disgorged another fireball. Exveemon took to the air again and the fireball crashed harmlessly into the ground beneath him, leaving a scorched crater in its path.

"Heads up!"

Exveemon's feet came down hard on Tyrannomon's snout, sending the beast lurching forward in a daze and allowing Exveemon to bounce off and land behind his opponent. Tyrannomon quickly recovered and twisted his upper body around to face Exveemon. He immediately sent another fireball Exveemon's way, but this time the heroic young digimon had a plan.

"V-Laser!"

The X-shaped coherent beam of light that sprang from Exveemon's torso cut through the air and even Tyrannomon's attack, dispersing the flames and punching right on through to Tyrannomon himself. The brute was knocked senseless, but otherwise he was fine. Satisfied with his victory, Exveemon sat down to take a breather and de-digivolve back to Veemon.

"Oh, my achin' back," Veemon complained.

"Sorry I'm late," said Stingmon, dropping out of the sky right next to his friend.

"Your timing is spectacular," Veemon said sarcastically.

"If I thought you'd need my help I would have come sooner," said Stingmon.

"If you say so."

"So did you get any information out of him?"

"Nope, not a thing. He seems to be a savage digimon."

"Dang. I was hoping we'd catch a break."

"You sure we don't need any backup on this one?"

"Don't tell me you doubt in our combined abilities, Veemon."

"Of course not!" Veemon said defensively. "I was just feeling kinda' guilty about hogging all the fun!"

"Fun or not, we still need to hunt down the source of these digimon. We can't let this continue."

"Well maybe one of the survivors will know," said Veemon. "At the very least we should be able to get a direction."

"I don't know. The last few villages all say the attack was too sudden to know where it came from."

"Well hopefully this time will be different."

"Sure, I guess. In the meantime, what do we do with our dinosaur pal over there?"

"Only one thing we can do," Veemon replied, "and that is, of course, let you decide. I beat him by myself, so you deal with him yourself."

"You may look like a dragon," said Stingmon, "but on the inside you're all weasel."

Hours later, in the dark of night, a calm atmosphere had settled in over Primary Village. Elecmon was asleep in his little house and Angemon was still up on Infinity Mountain, regaling Omnimon with the story of his life since their last parting. Just like the night before, Mogumon and Gigimon were curled up, asleep in the nursery. Mogumon still held onto his precious digivice tightly. However, the digivice was acting strangely. It was beeping—not quite loud enough to wake anyone—and its screen was flashing blue. A moment later a flash of golden light engulfed the small building, but only for an instant. The digimon all continued sleeping, undisturbed by the flash, and thus none were aware of the sudden change that had just taken place.


	4. The Incident at Granite Gulch

****

Day 3

"'Mornin' kiddies!" Elecmon called out as he stepped into the nursery.

The sun was rising again, looming behind Elecmon on the horizon. Despite the increasingly unusual situation, Elecmon's daily pattern continued unfettered, with the exception that Angemon had not returned from the mountain yet. Still, Elecmon had done this job for a long time without his protégé and he could still get it done alone.

A fraction of a second after Elecmon's cheerful greeting, though, his mood was changed dramatically as something shot out from the darkened building and struck him in the face, knocking him flat on his back. Dazed, Elecmon lay there for a moment trying to recover his senses, but a moment was all he had because that's how long it took for whatever had struck him to land on his gut and start bouncing up and down like he was a furry trampoline.

"Wha—*cough* what the heck was THAT?!" Elecmon finally managed to choke out.

The thing stopped bouncing upon hearing him speak and settled contentedly on his upturned belly. As Elecmon's eyes began to focus, he saw before him an odd little digimon. It was about the size of a normal In-Training and had a beaming face covered in a mat of short orange fur, a cat-like nose and mouth including a few whiskers, large yellow eyes and a pair of fangs sticking out from the corners of his mouth. Encompassing the digimon's face was what might be called its main body, which was covered in thick, bushy, red hair right down to the Koromon-like ears. The digimon also had two feet and a tail; each foot was covered in the same orange fur as the digimon's face and had two toes with curved ebony claws. The tail was also covered in orange fur right up to the tip, where there were two connected tufts of bushy red fur.

"Well hi there," said Elecmon. "Just who are—"

"The sun's up! The sun is UP! It's about time 'cause now I get to play! Hey! You're pretty squishy; can I play with you? Huh? Can I? Please? Pretty please?! Pretty please with sugar and ice cream and chocolate and caramel and cherries and bananas and more sugar and sprinkles and maybe one of those little umbrella doohickeys and…"

Elecmon watched, stunned as this digimon he'd just now met rambled on and on about playing without even stopping to breathe.

"…And almonds and butterscotch and—"

"Okay!" shouted Elecmon. "I'll play with you! Just settle down for one second!"

"You will?!" the digimon squealed with joy. "Awesome! Killer! You're the best!" The digimon began hopping again, but luckily for Elecmon he opted to hop in concentric circles around his new playmate instead of on his gut. "Waddya' wanna' play?! Huh?! If you don't know I bet I could come up with some cool games! I know I could come up with better games than you could! See?! Right there! That could be a game! Coming up with games! I'm already beating you!"

Elecmon by this point had managed to stand upright again and he dusted himself off. "What did I say about relaxing?" he asked.

"I dunno'! Don't you?" the digimon asked while continuing to bounce all over the place.

"Well could you at least tell me you're name?"

"Only if you tell me yours!"

"What? All right, fine. My name's Elecmon and I run this place. I'm here to look after all the baby digimon and make sure that—could you maybe stop bouncing for a second?! You're making my dizzy!"

"Sorry, but I can't help it! Can't you see it?! The sun's up! Weeeeeeeeehooo!!!" The digimon started bouncing about faster than ever before.

"Look, I told you my name. Could you please tell me—"

"My name's Canimon! Yeehaw!"

"Y'know it's rude to interrupt others, especially when they're older than you! Wait, you said your name was Canimon?"

"Bingo, oldy-moldy!"

"And don't call me names, kid! Now look, I'm willing to bet you digivolved from Mogumon, and I—"

"Mogumon is now gone! Better make way for Canimon!"

"And I was wondering where you put your digivice! It's the little gray thing with buttons and it beeps!"

Canimon stopped his bouncing for the moment and turned to face Elecmon. They both waited motionless for a moment, Elecmon expecting to be led to the device, which he though was still in the nursery. After a short time he got tired of waiting.

"Is it still back in the nursery?" he asked.

Canimon swiveled his head back and forth rapidly.

"Then where is it?"

Canimon looked to be thinking hard, and then he looked Elecmon straight in the eye, opened his maw and stuck out his king-size tongue, resting on top of which was the digivice.

"Hey! Get that out of there!" Elecmon scolded. "That's a very sensitive piece of equipment! It does NOT belong in your mouth!"

"Thpoiled thport," Canimon huffed as he spat out the digivice at Elecmon. "If you didn't want to be my friend you should've just said so…"

"Hey, come on now," said Elecmon, "I still want to be your friend. I just didn't want—"

"Okay!" Canimon shouted, apparently perking right up again. He bounced up and landed on Elecmon's head. "So what'cha wanna' do first?" he asked, leaning forward and looking down into Elecmon's eyes.

"Well first of all," Elecmon said as he picked up the digivice and wiped it off, "we should probably go…introduce you to some new friends."

"Yay! More new friends! Where are they? Are they over there? How 'bout there? Tell me!"

"Take it down a notch," said Elecmon. "Look, you've already met Angemon. Do you remember him?"

"Yep! He's funny!"

"Right. He's up on top of that mountain right over there and he's got some more friends for you to meet. Do you want to come?"

"Totally!"

"Okay, then let's get going."

"Hey, what's goin' on out here?" asked another digimon from just inside the nursery.

Elecmon turned to see whom it was and realized the digimon was Gigimon.

"Go back to bed, Gigimon," said Elecmon. "And please don't get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"Hey, is that Mogumon?"

"Gigimon!" shouted Canimon, leaping off Elecmon's head and tumbling into Gigimon. "You're awake! The sun's up, you're awake, and I get to meet even more new friends! This is the best thing ever! It'll be so much fun!"

Elecmon took note of the two digimon and came to a realization. There was no way he'd be able to get Canimon to sit still long enough to get him up Infinity Mountain, that much was clear. However, if he had a little playmate…say, Gigimon…it would be a cakewalk.

"Say, why don't you come along, Gigimon?" suggested Elecmon.

"Why don't you make me?!" Gigimon said as he stuck out his tongue.

"Canimon is coming and I bet you two would have a lot of fun," Elecmon said persuasively.

"Come on, Gigimon!" Canimon pleaded. "It's gonna' be the best thing ever!"

"Fine," said Gigimon. "But I wanna' eat first!"

"I'll tell you what," said Elecmon, "why don't we all race to the top of the mountain? Doesn't that sound like a fun game?"

"Yeah!" Canimon said excitedly.

"But I'm HUGRY!" Gigimon whined.

"There's food at the top," said Elecmon.

Gigimon's eyes widened and then he shot off like a bullet. Canimon immediately did likewise, springing along in great leaps. Elecmon followed as fast as he could, but found him easily outpaced by the youthful energy and surprising motivation of the other two.

Far, far away from this unusual scene, in the heart of the west quadrant there existed a small town in the mountains. It was a mining town, not having more than a few businesses to serve the miners, and it went by the name of Granite Gulch. The local architecture was simple and rarely above a single story, and what little vegetation existed was dominated by the gray, rocky cliff-face. It just so happened that one of the establishments in this forgotten corner of the world was a dingy bar, populated by a clientele of questionable character. The only significant light came in through the swinging, old-west style saloon doors in front, leaving most of the business encapsulated in darkness. The entertainment at this time of day was a harmonica-playing Penguimon with a patch over one eye and a nasty disposition. In this setting, it was not surprising that no one noticed the tall, hulking digimon covered in a tattered brown poncho with a broad-brimmed, soft leather hat on his head walk in.

His red eyes scanned the various digimon within as the doors swung shut behind him. After a moment he walked forward to the bar and sat down on a vacant stool. It was surprisingly crowded considering the time of day, and that would make the large digimon's job much harder.

"What's yer poison?" asked the Nanimon behind the counter.

"I'm looking for someone," the digimon said in a near growl.

"Information is fer payin' customers only," Nanimon said as he spit-shined a glass.

The digimon looked at Nanimon distastefully for a moment and then placed his large, right paw up on the counter, sliding a few digidollars over to Nanimon.

"And how can I help you today, dear patron?" Nanimon asked as he stashed the money away.

"I'm looking for a certain digimon of no consequence, a Yashamon. I know for a fact that he's in this town, or at least he was last night."

"Sorry, Mac. I think I'd remember someone like that. From what I here, those guys like their sake, and I haven't sold an ounce of the stuff in years. You might want to check another local purveyor or better yet just move along."

"You're lying," the digimon snarled.

"Yeah? Prove it."

"For one thing, you don't have any competitors, not since last month when a few convenient accidents made yours the only such establishment in town."

"That's luck fer ya'."

"I doubt that."

"Look, pal. I don't think I want your kind in here."

"Planning on throwing me out?"

"Nope. That's what they're for." The sinister digimon pointed to a very serious-looking Wizardmon and his Golemon assistant.

"Don't think you can intimidate me. Not even for a second."

"I don't want any trouble, partner, but if I have to…"

The digimon's eyes shifted and he seemed suddenly distracted, but he remained quite still.

"That won't be necessary anymore," he said.

The mysterious digimon spun around and lifted up his left arm just in time to block a forceful blow from above. Now standing before him was the very Yashamon he had been searching for, his face hidden behind a mask, his body scarred from battle, and in his hands a pair of wooden swords.

"Bingo," said the digimon with a smirk.

Without a word, Yashamon withdrew his sword and hit the digimon with a potent spinning-kick to the face, sending him right over the bar and onto Nanimon. Yashamon then landed, turned, and dashed out the door and into the sunlight. He didn't make it more than a few yards, though, before he saw a second digimon standing in his way. This second one was much shorter and stockier than the first, but he wore the same combination of the poncho and hat. That disguise didn't stay on for long, though, as Yashamon's new opponent tossed away the hat and poncho in one motion, exposing himself as Gargomon. Yashamon quickly found himself staring down the twelve barrels of Gargomon's gattling guns.

"Hold it right there, pilgrim," said Gargomon.

The Yashamon looked over his shoulder for an escape route only to find that the first digimon had recovered and followed him outside. The digimon nudged his hat up with his right thumb and showed his face: the face of Wendigomon.

"I'd go quietly if I were you," said Wendigomon.

Yashamon looked back at Gargomon, studying his adversary intently. Gargomon found it unsettling how calm and cool this strange digimon was, but believed the capture could still go down without a hitch. Gargomon winked at Wendigomon to signal him to move in.

"Hey, Yashamon!" Gargomon shouted. "I hear your mother wears combat boots!"

Yashamon remained unmoved, but looked like he was about to attack.

"Not much of a talker?! Fine by me! Gargo Pellet!" Gargomon squeezed of a few rounds at Yashamon.

The insidious digimon moved with incredible speed, leaping a few feet into the air, spinning as he went. As per his design, he was able to just dodge Wendigomon's charge as the lumbering digimon dove at him from behind. Having sensed the move, Yashamon had devised a counterstrike. He caught Wendigomon on the back of the skull with one of his wooden swords and used the other to deflect the first few shots of Gargomon's brief volley. To seal the deal he deflected the last shot right onto Wendigomon's back.

Wendigomon cried out in pain as he hit the ground hard. Yashamon then turned his gaze back to Gargomon, tightening his grip on his weapons.

"Bring it on!" Gargomon shouted, opening up with both guns.

Yashamon dodged left and right, ducked below and leaped above the stream of shots being fired at him, all the while moving in closer and closer to Gargomon. Very soon he had made it within a few feet of his opponent, despite Gargomon's attempts to back away. Yashamon lunged forward and struck one of the blazing guns away with his swords and then the other. Before Gargomon could bring his weapons to bear again he received a potent kick to the face and fell over backwards. Gargomon lay on his back, only temporarily stunned. Yashamon wasted no time in leaping up onto his torso and turning one of his swords downward and preparing to thrust it right through Gargomon's neck.

"Yashamon!" shouted Wendigomon.

Yashamon paused and looked back over his shoulder. Wendigomon, still disguised by his hat and poncho, had stood up again. His hulking shoulders grew and shrunk in time with his heavy breathing. That last attack may have knocked the wind out of him but he did not look like he was ready to give up anytime soon.

"Come and get some of this!"

Yashamon gave Gargomon a second kick to the face to ensure he would not interfere. Then he made his most impressive jump yet, soaring over fifty feet into the air. He raised both blades up over his head and came to a momentary standstill directly over Wendigomon. Wendigomon looked up, but the sun began to get in his eyes. That was exactly what Yashamon was counting on. As gravity took over, Yashamon began to fall. Faster and faster he approached his target. His muscles twitched and he pulled his blades down with all his might. At that very instant, Wendigomon tossed his poncho back over his shoulder and bared the dual columns of gun barrels on his chest. Yashamon could not stop himself. He never had the chance. He was falling directly two his doom.

"Howling Destroyer!"

Wendigomon fired his attack and raked Yashamon up and down with his powerful guns. In fact the series of detonations proved strong enough to overcome Yashamon's weight and suspend him in mid-air until one last shot tossed Yashamon back. His smoking body fell to the ground. His pants were riddled with bullet-holes, his wooden swords and gauntlets had been all but demolished, and a deep crack ran through his facemask.

Yashamon struggled to rise again, but before he could he was grabbed by Wendigomon and picked up. Wendigomon turned Yashamon around to face Gargomon and pinned him against his chest with his powerful arms. Gargomon stepped up to Yashamon, he nose bloodied and his face bruised.

"Alright, Yashamon," said Gargomon. "Time to pay the piper."

"You couldn't have thought you'd get away with that," said Wendigomon. "Cooperate and maybe you won't have an accident on your way back to prison."

Yashamon was still silent.

"Don't feel like talkin'?" asked Gargomon. "Have it your way." He gave Yashamon a hearty punch to the gut. "Feel like talkin' now?"

"F-f-fools," Yashamon choked out.

"Well look at that," said Wendigomon. "I think we're making progress."

"Alright, Yashamon. Why'd you kill all those digimon? Why attack our city?"

"Because those were my orders." He spat at Gargomon.

"Orders? And just who gives these orders?" asked Gargomon.

"That is not your concern, little one."

"Wrong answer," Wendigomon said as he tightened his grip on Yashamon, nearly crushing his ribs.

Yashamon seemed to struggle in agony but his voice was silent again.

"Tell us now, Yashamon," said Gargomon.

"Ignorant creatures! Blind slaves! None of you know!"

"I can squeeze much tighter, Yashamon," said Wendigomon.

"I don't blame you; you don't know any better," said Yashamon. "I was once just like you. But that was a long time ago, before my eyes were opened."

"Talk!" Wendigomon and Gargomon barked.

"Death is only the beginning! With every one of us you slay you add to _his_ strength! I will return, glorified on the day of _the Fifth Eye_! All glory to the un-living Destroyer and to the monument to non-existence that he shall make from this world!"

"This is getting us nowhere," said Wendigomon.

"He's obviously some kind of luna—"

Before Gargomon could finish his sentence, Yashamon came to life and shoved away both brothers with an impressive show of strength.

"My voice will fall silent now, but it shall return," said Yashamon.

Wendigomon tried to charge Yashamon, but he was too late. Yashamon turned one of his broken swords inward and thrust it up into his stomach. He fell to the ground; his eyes rolled back and he was dead in seconds. His data had already dissipated by the time Wendigomon reached the spot where Yashamon had fallen.

Not long thereafter, three voices echoed within the enormous Infinity Crater.

"You're it!" cried Gigimon.

"Not for long!" Canimon retorted.

"Hey, knock it off, you two! That's dangerous."

"C'mon, don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Elecmon," Canimon whined.

A few more seconds passed. The sounds of small falling rocks could be heard.

"Whoa!" Canimon cried.

"We got'cha!" the other two announced at once.

A few more seconds elapsed.

"Whew!" Gigimon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Awesome! That was fun! Can we do it again?"

"You most certainly may not! I warned you about—"

"Hey Gigimon! You touched me so now you're it!"

"Hey! Come back here!"

"Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"

"Slow down! You'll fall!" Elecmon warned.

Soon enough, the three digimon had reached their destination, and stood just outside the darkened halls of the Shrine of the Dark Incarnate. They moved forward steadily, although Gigimon and Canimon still seemed more interested in playing.

"Gigimon! Canimon!" Elecmon scolded in a hushed voice. "This is sacred ground, and the people you are about to meet are very important. Be respectful."

"And why should I?" Gigimon asked indignantly.

"Please, Gigimon. Don't be difficult. Not this time."

"I thought you said they'd be my friends," said Canimon.

"Oh they will," said Elecmon, "but for right now, just be calm and let them talk."

The three travelers passed through the great doors and into the inner sanctum, the meeting place of the Guardians. In the back of the shrine sat Omnimon, almost completely shrouded in the shadows save for a few rays of light that glinted off his armor. Standing inside the room's only column of light below the great dome were Angemon and Virgil, apparently engaged in a exceedingly engrossing conversation.

"Hello?" Elecmon called out.

"Ah," said Angemon, suddenly and thrown off balance by the presence of these unexpected guests. "Elecmon, I see you…have come…with two young digimon."

"Rest your worries, Angemon," said Virgil. "This place is sacred, not forbidden."

"Sorry to intrude, kid," said Elecmon. "But I have news to bring you. This digimon beside me is the digivolved form of Mogumon."

"What?" asked Angemon. "Is it possible that he could have digivolved so quickly?"

"Of course it is!" said Canimon.

"And Gigimon?"

"He's here for company."

"I see," said Angemon.

"Come closer, Elecmon," said Omnimon. "Step into the light. The children too."

The three of them obeyed Omnimon's command.

"The digivice?" asked Angemon.

"Oh, of course. It's right here," Elecmon said, showing the device to Angemon.

"You hold it for now," said Angemon. "Keep it safe and well hidden."

"Of course, kid. But I think it's responsible for Canimon's digivolving so soon."

"Seems reasonable," said Angemon.

"Elecmon, I have a request," said Virgil.

"Of course! Anything, your Guardianship!"

"I need you and Gigimon to wait outside for a moment. You too, Angemon. Omnimon and I must speak with this young one."

"Uh, sure. I don't think that will be a problem."

"But Master Virgil," said Angemon, "why do you wish me to leave?"

"Angemon, do as he requests," said Omnimon. "You will be made aware of all that transpires here."

"Very well," said Angemon. "Come along, you two. We can talk outside."

Angemon, Elecmon and Gigimon all slowly abandoned the shrine, leaving Canimon alone with the dominating Omnimon and the mysterious Virgil.

"Fear us not, young friend," said Virgil. "We offer no threat."

"I'm not afraid," Canimon said in a shaky voice.

"I am known as Virgil, and I am a friend of the one you know as Gennai."

"And I am Omnimon, friend and protector of all."

"Well, I'm Canimon, friend of food. Do you happen to have any?"

"I'm afraid we don't happen to have any right now," Omnimon said with a little laugh. "But we would like to ask a few questions. Maybe we can round up some snacks for you a little later."

"Omnimon…" Virgil said almost inaudibly.

"Right," he replied, recovering his train of thought. "I know that you have what is called a digivice. Can you tell me, does it make you feel like you're supposed to be with someone else? A human, perhaps?"

"Hu-mon? What's a hu-mon?"

"A human. They are similar to me in many ways," said Virgil.

"I don't think so," said Canimon.

"Fair enough," said Omnimon. "Tell us, Canimon. Are you brand new or were you reformatted? Did you have a previous life or any memories you cannot account for?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Very well," said Omnimon. "Now this is the most important question of all. Do you know anything about a being called the Destroyer, or perhaps something known to us as _the Fifth Eye_?"

"Nope. Can't really say I do."

A sigh of relief and disappointment passed from both Virgil and Omnimon.

"Thank you, Canimon," said Omnimon. "You may go and tell the others to come back in."

"Okay," said Canimon. "HEY GUYS! YOU CAN COME BACK NOW!"

"Why don't you go over to the door and tell them," Virgil suggested.

"Fine, have it your way," said Canimon as he began to hop over to the entrance. He returned a few seconds later with the others.

"Step forward," said Omnimon. "We have made our judgement."

"Judgement?" asked Angemon.

"What's all this about?" asked Elecmon.

"Elecmon, we find you to be as excellent at what you do as always," said Omnimon. "Truly, there is none better suited to bringing young digimon into this world than you are, and when you finally decide to pass the torch onto your protégé your presence will be deeply missed. You will therefore continue your duties and return to Primary Village with Canimon and Gigimon once we are done here."

"Is that all?" Elecmon asked confusedly.

"That is much more than you realize," said Omnimon. "Now then, Angemon…"

"Hey!" Gigimon interrupted. "You mean I had to walk all the way up here for THAT?!"

"Yeah, this wasn't nearly as fun as you said it'd be, Elecmon," said Canimon.

"Canimon, you are a very special digimon," said Omnimon. "We will be watching you with great interest. I ask only that you follow your heart. Gigimon, I want you to be our agent. Keep an eye on your friend there for us."

"Fine," said Gigimon.

"Thanks, Omnimon," said Canimon.

"Hey! Address him as Lord Omnimon!" Elecmon scolded.

"And you, Angemon," said Omnimon. "We have a unique purpose for you."

"Oh?"

"We need you to perform a certain mission," said Omnimon. "In these trying times, it is difficult to know who to trust. We agree, though, that your loyalty combined with your abilities and rare standing makes you ideal for the mission to be done."

"Far to the north, beyond the Turtle Gate and Ebonwumon's Forest, there lies a city," said Virgil. "It is the largest city in all of this world, and it is home to the most enlightened thinkers of our time. Digimon from all over the world go there to seek wisdom, to settle disputes, to bring important issues to light and to organize dissident factions in any quadrant into official collective groups. It is the unofficial capital of the entire Digital World. Within the city there is a magnificent structure carved from the finest marble known as the Ivory Tower, and that single structure is the Mecca for many of the greatest warriors and thinkers of the past thousand years. However, only angel digimon may enter. Neither Omnimon nor even myself may set foot on that hallowed ground."

"It is where the ancient order of angels resides, hidden away in their vast halls," Omnimon continued. "Few angel digimon, even among those born outside the northern quadrant, are not part of the order. Inside the Ivory Tower they learn the ways of the word and the weapon. They stand ever vigilant, preparing for a time when a great darkness blankets our world again. Still, I believe them to be a paper tiger. When the Dark Masters rose they put up a fight that lasted only hours. The survivors retreated back to their tower. They opted to hide away and observe the Emperor during his reign. When BlackWargreymon began his rampage they were locked in endless debate over whether or not he constituted a great enough threat. They seemed ignorant to the Virus' attacks until it was too late, and were even reluctant to make war on the D-Reaper."

"Nevertheless," said Virgil, "they remain the ideal fighting force against any evil force in this world, and the knowledge they have amassed is without equal. You must go to the Ivory Tower. Study the Triadic Verse in great detail. Learn all you can about the Destroyer. If the situation escalates and it becomes clear that we are indeed facing the Destroyer we will need you to enlist the immediate aid of the order. You will not be alone, though. It has come to my attention that a dear friend of yours, and Angewomon I believe, resides in the tower, studying with her fellows."

"Angewomon?" Angemon gasped.

"There is more," said Omnimon. "As tempting as it may be to spend all your time with her, it is imperative that you focus a great deal of your energy on connecting with the leader of the order, the warrior-poet Lucemon. Lucemon, you see, is no ordinary digimon. He is over a thousand years old; his twelve wings mark him as the highest angel digimon, the perfect warrior of the light. He is even known to have served Protomon directly during his first incarnation in this world. Some say that Lucemon may even be stronger than I."

"This…this is incredible! How come I've never heard of any of this?"

"We Guardians felt it would be wise to keep you separate from the order," said Virgil. "You have been a DigiDestined digimon in the past. We knew that if you were meant to find your way to them, you would do so in time. That is what became of Angewomon."

"We have been very cautious regarding the order in the past," said Omnimon. "Many depend on their strength and wisdom to preserve this world, but few truly trust them. They are very secretive and isolated and their leader is one of the great enigmas of the Digital World. Moreover, their lack of action against the Dark Masters, the Emperor, or any other foe in recent memory has left many suspicious that their power is waning."

"Go to the Ivory Tower. Listen well to the words of Lucemon. Discover the secrets of the Destroyer and _the Fifth Eye_," said Virgil. "Do these things, Angemon. Everything you know and love may depend on it."

"I will not fail you," said Angemon. "Take care, Omnimon. It's been good seeing you again. Hopefully, next time it will be under better circumstances."

"Travel well, Angemon," said Omnimon.

On that note, Angemon turned and began to walk away.

"Angemon? Are you goin' away?" asked Gigimon.

"I'm afraid I must."

"Come on! Don't go!" Gigimon pleaded.

"Yeah!" Canimon chimed in. "I'm really, really sorry about hitting you in the nose earlier! Just don't go!"

"Now, now, children," Elecmon said consolingly. "You'll see him again soon enough."

"Elecmon's right," Angemon said with a smile. "Now be good and I promise to bring you back some presents!"

"Yay! Yeah! Woohoo!" the young digimon cheered.

"You sure you'll be alright without me for a while?" Angemon whispered.

"I've been doing this since long before you came around," Elecmon replied. "I should've known I could never keep someone like you locked up. Now go on. Go; have another adventure, kid. Your job will be waiting for you when this is all over, if you still want it."

"I'll be back. I promise."

And so, Angemon continued forward. He passed out into the light of day, spread his wings, and took to the skies headed due north. Elecmon, Canimon and Gigimon likewise left the shrine very soon thereafter, leaving Omnimon and Virgil alone once again.

Omnimon sighed noticeably once the others were gone. "It is such a terrible burden. I'm amazed at your strength, Virgil."

"You have no idea, Lord Omnimon. Before you came into the picture I was perhaps the only being in this world with the hidden knowledge. Now, we both have someone to talk with."

"I only wish we could tell them the whole truth."

"But we can't. Protomon wished for them to become self-reliant. If they are to unearth the ancient knowledge, we can only show them the path."

"Doesn't Lucemon know of this?"

"Parts, but not the whole truth. Most of what he knows he acquired on his own."

"So he could tell everyone and ruin a thousand years of work."

"He could, but he is too wise for that. He, like us, knows that the knowledge we possess was buried for a good reason. Its release could undo all we have striven for."

"I only wish the same could be said for the Vanguard and their ilk."

"I don't know. I believe that the Destroyer may be the only one with whom they have shared this information. Neither the Deceiver nor the Corrupter was aware of the full implications of this Grand Scheme of theirs, and as I recall, the Destroyer is rather tight-lipped around those who serve him. We are safe, at least for now."

"And Canimon?"

"He has great potential, but his true nature is still up for grabs. I will have our agents on the lookout for the other possibility."

"And now, we must wait."

"Alas, it is true."

"A sun rises, my friend."

"And a moon falls."


	5. The Stage is Set

****

Day 7

"Cannonball!"

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Look out!"

"Move it!"

The cluster of young digimon who had been happily playing about in the water a moment before quickly began treading water to get out of the way of the incoming projectile. Luckily they were all safely out of the way by the time Canimon reached the water and made a huge splash. He emerged a few seconds later, sopping wet but grinning like an idiot.

"What did you think you were doing?" demanded and irate Koromon.

"Yeah!" a steamed Punimon said.

"Hey, I warned ya'!" Canimon said without letting his smile dim.

It was a bright, sunny day as so many were in Primary Village. Canimon was down at the river with a whole group of other digimon he'd become friends with ever since his dramatic change in disposition when he digivolved. The strange and wonderful tropical trees of File Island shaded the river; the rocks alongside this slow part of the water were slick and glistened in the filtered green light.

"Hey, you guys thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" asked Viximon.

"Oh yeah," said Koromon.

Canimon gulped as he saw Viximon, Koromon and Bukamon all dive in and head right for him. The three of them swarmed all over Canimon in a mock fight, and within a few seconds all were nearly crying with laughter. Gigimon, however, was sunning himself on a rock not far away. Canimon noticed this and decided to get his buddy in on the action, so he got a big mouthful of water and sprayed it at Gigimon. Gigimon had his eyes closed so this came as a real surprise to him; in fact it knocked him right off his rock. The other digimon all laughed, including Canimon. Gigimon reappeared a second later with a drowned-rat look about him.

"What do you think you're doing, Canimon?!" Gigimon demanded.

"Relax, buddy!" Canimon said. "Come on in! Join the party!"

"I think I'm good right here," Gigimon said, plopping down on his rock again.

"Don't be such a spoiled sport," said a female Nyaromon. "Besides, if you come in I'll make it worth your while." She winked seductively.

This got Gigimon blushing and all the other digimon, including Nyaromon, began to giggle and snicker.

"I think I'm fine right here," said Gigimon.

"Alright, just don't get a sunburn," said Viximon.

"Not that anyone would notice," said Koromon.

Canimon, Bukamon, Punimon and Koromon started giggling again over that last joke. Gigimon just shrugged it off and laid on his back to soak up a few rays.

"Play nice, kids," Elecmon warned from where he stood a few yards away.

Elecmon was down at the river under the pretense of fishing, but it was fairly obvious his main goal was to keep an eye on the little ones. Years of experience had taught him to place his nets downstream to catch any young, careless digimon who lost his or her footing.

"We will!" the whole group recited together.

"And Canimon! Make sure that digivice doesn't get wet!"

"I know," Canimon said exhaustedly.

Elecmon could remember telling Canimon repeatedly that morning that it would be a bad idea to bring his digivice along, but Canimon was a stubborn little digimon and he always kept his digivice with him. At that moment it sat amidst the rocks on a small clump of grass.

"Keep away!"

Well, so much for the digivice's safety.

"Hey! Give that back!" Canimon shouted.

"Viximon! Catch!" Koromon shouted as he spat the instrument over Canimon's head to his playmate.

"I got it!" Viximon said just before she caught it in her own mouth.

"I'm comin' for ya'!" Canimon said playfully as he charged Viximon.

"Bukamon!" Viximon called out.

"I'm open!" shouted Bukamon.

Canimon made it to Viximon just as she tossed the digivice over to Bukamon, whom eagerly caught it in his fins. It went on like that for a little while until an errant throw sent the device sailing wildly off course. It was heading directly for the water when Gigimon saw it shimmer in the air. He sprung to life and reached out as far as he could. A collective gasp went through the playing digimon and by some miracle Gigimon just barely managed to catch the edge of the device on his lower lip. A slight grin crossed his face, but his victory was short-lived when the rocks below his stubby feet proved to slick and he did something of a face-plant into the river.

"Gigimon!" shouted Canimon.

Without wasting a second, Canimon went below the surface to track down his waterlogged buddy. The others all watched in stunned silence, waiting for something to emerge. They waited for what felt like an eternity, but was in reality more like three seconds. That's when they saw a strange light below the surface appear and then vanish a second later. Another eternity passed and up popped Canimon, his fur matted down and a surprised look on his face.

"Canimon!" said Koromon.

"What happened down there?" asked Nyaromon.

The next thing they knew, Canimon rose completely out of the water, supported by the large red head of a dinosaur digimon. All of Canimon's playmates instantly yelped with fright and swam from the water at full speed to go hide behind Elecmon.

"What's all this about?" asked Elecmon.

"M-m-m-monster!" screeched Koromon.

"It was red!"

"With pointy teeth!"

"And scary yellow eyes!"

"You're gonna need to give me a little more to go on, kids," Elecmon said nonchalantly.

"Gigimon?" asked Canimon, looking at the digimon below him. "Is that you?"

"I think so," the digimon replied.

"Well I don't," said Elecmon, having spotted the pair.

"You don't?" asked Canimon.

"What you're looking at is Gigimon's Rookie form. I'd like you all to meet Guilmon."

"So…I'm Guilmon now?"

"Bingo, kid. I gotta tell you, though, I sure didn't expect this to happen, at least not for a few months yet."

"What do you mean?" asked Guilmon.

"Well it's only been a few days since you were in your Fresh form," Elecmon explained. "That's quite a growth spurt if you ask me."

"It happened when he touched my digivice underwater," said Canimon.

"Hey, yeah," said Guilmon, quickly remembering to bring the digivice out from under the surface.

"So he's a Rookie?" asked Nyaromon.

"He looks so…strange," said Bukamon.

With Canimon still sitting atop his head, Guilmon pulled himself up onto the bank.

"Holy cowmon! He's huge!" Koromon exclaimed.

"He's even bigger than you, Elecmon!" said Punimon.

"Hey, I AM big," Guilmon realized as he looked himself up and down.

"WAY big," said Canimon.

"He's ginormous!" said Viximon.

"Ginormous" may have been an overstatement. He was actually no bigger than any other Guilmon Elecmon had seen in his time, but then again they were known to be exceptionally large for Rookies.

"Hey Guilmon!" Koromon called out. "Could we…um…use your tail like a waterslide?"

"No way!"

"Aw, c'mon!"

"No!"

"Please?!"

"I said no!"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!" the whole group pleaded.

"Actually, I think it's about time we all head back to the village," Elecmon said as he dragged in his nets. "Come along, children. We've all had a lot of fun today but it's time to get back."

"But the sun's not even going down!" Bukamon whined.

"Okay," said Elecmon, "but the last one back to the village has to go to bed early tonight."

"Outta the way!"

"Move!"

"I'm gone!"

"Hurry!"

"Let's get outta here!"

Elecmon had done a fine job of motivating the young digimon as always. He let out a sigh and a little chuckle, but now that the young ones were gone he could wear a worried expression. Now that Gigimon had evolved to Guilmon so quickly he found himself faced with a bit of a conundrum. Guilmon was a Rookie, and usually once a digimon reached the Rookie level it chose to leave Primary Village, but Guilmon was a special case. His physical development was outpacing his mental development—he hadn't even been to school yet—and it was all thanks to that mysterious digivice. For some reason, that thing responded to him, even though it had come from Canimon's digiegg. Was it because Jyarimon had been the first to touch it? Perhaps it was due to the friendship between the two. Maybe it could work on any digimon but required just the right thing to set it off. Whatever the reason, it had twice led Guilmon to digivolve, and Elecmon seriously doubted whether he was ready for such a body.

By that time, Gennai had been to the north and worked alongside Minari in the investigation. However, he was finally able to contact two of his informants and took a temporary leave of absence to meet with them in a small fishing village on the far-west coast of Server. He waited patiently, his legs hanging over the edge of an old wooden pier. The smell of the sea was in the air and the blue sky and blue sea seemed to merge into one on the distant horizon. Still, Gennai was unable to fully enjoy this. He felt under a great deal of stress considering the importance of his assignment, and both of his agents were over half an hour late. That was just about to change, though.

"Waiting for someone?" asked a bold voice from behind Gennai.

"It's about time," said Gennai, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

"Sorry. You know how hard it can be to get away sometimes."

"It's forgiven, friend. I understand your pal can be hard to get rid of at times."

"You could say that."

"It's good to see you again," Gennai said as he finally turned to face his informant, "Stingmon."

"Likewise," said Stingmon. "But again, it would be a whole lot easier to arrange these meetings if you'd take him on as an agent too."

"With his big mouth? I don't think so."

"Right, right. You guys like to keep things low-key. The fewer people that know about the Guardians' operations, the better."

"Sometimes, less is more. Besides, it's only to keep ahead of the Vanguard."

"I hear that," said the third member of the group, whose massive head had just emerged from the water in front of Gennai. It was, naturally, Seadramon.

"Finally," said Gennai. "Now we can get down to business."

"Right," said the other two.

"This is a time of great significance. We Guardians have sensed an evil force on the move. Some of us even believe it to be the Destroyer, showing his face at last. That's why we've launched an investigation. However, if it IS the Destroyer, and it IS the Vanguard that's behind this, then this operation could send them even father into hiding if they catch wind of it. I'm not even sure if I can trust my own allies, and that's why I need you two as my eyes and ears."

"But Gennai, aren't you being a little paranoid?" asked Seadramon.

"Paranoia just might mean the difference between life and death. I very much doubt that there is any deception among the Guardians or Omnimon or any of you former DigiDestined digimon, and I will spend most of my time focussed on more likely contamination just outside our tiny circle. Still, I cannot completely rule out the possibility that there is a traitor among us. You need to keep an eye on my fellow Guardians and even on your fellow former DigiDestined digimon. I'll also need to know about anything suspicious going on in the world that you may notice."

"Exactly what I wanted to talk about," said Stingmon. "Only a few days ago I fought a Meramon who'd been terrorizing local villages. When I confronted him he seemed nearly mad, ranting about fire and saying he was under orders. Unfortunately, he did not survive the battle and I couldn't get very much out of him. There was also another situation with a Tyrannomon, but he seemed like just another savage digimon."

"I know what you're saying," said Seadramon. "Lately there's been some strange happenings around here. The normal traffic of pilgrims to the Dragon Gate has all but ground to a stop with the rumors of some kind of nutcase in the area attacking those who go to remember the Sovereigns. I can't make heads or tails of the situation."

"This is indeed disturbing," said Gennai. "Perhaps the problem is more widespread than even we realized. If the Vanguard is on the move again after all these years then there must be something very big brewing."

"So what do we do?" asked Seadramon.

"Just be mindful of what is occurring all around us," said Gennai. "Learn what you can but do not draw attention to yourselves."

"Anything else, Gennai?" asked Stingmon.

"Yes. Before I left, Omnimon told me something, and he was very secretive about it. I don't think he wanted anyone else to know what he told me. He advised me to be very cautious of _the Fifth Eye_. I know he was trying to tell me something very important, but he seemed restrained."

"You think he's hiding something?" asked Seadramon.

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I think his motives for hiding it are benevolent. I want you both to watch for anything that might connected with this, and if you find something I want you to send word to me in the north immediately. Now I fear I have run out of time here. I'll be in contact."

"Good luck, Gennai," said Stingmon.

"The same to you both," Gennai said just before vanishing in another one of his trademark columns of light.

That night the atmosphere in Primary Village was jovial, and many of the digimon had gathered together around a bonfire to eat, sing, chat, dance, and basically just have a good time; this was something of a tradition on warm nights. Elecmon was there of course but he'd also called in backup in the form of a few other older digimon to help him keep an eye on things. Canimon and his group of friends, including Guilmon, had gathered near the fire to snack on fried fish and marshmallows as soon as they were finished cooking. There were dozens of other digimon there, though, and the vast majority of them weren't even Rookies yet.

"Oh man!" Canimon said as he choked down three more fish. "This is the best!"

"Wow," said Koromon. "That's gotta be, like, five of those things you've eaten."

"Where do you put it all?" asked Nyaromon.

"It all gets turned right into muscle, baby!"

"Right," said Bukamon, "if by muscle you refer to that gelatin-like physique of yours."

"You're one to talk, seal boy!"

"My weight is just right for my height!"

"Don't listen to him, Bukamon," said Viximon. "You're not fat, you're just husky."

"See?"

"Guilmon agrees with me, right?" asked Canimon.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure."

"So there!"

"You're crazy," Bukamon said as he flexed his fins. "Just take a look at these muscles!"

"Oh please!" said Canimon. "You're like pudding!"

The others, not counting Guilmon, all giggled at this.

"He's got a good point there, Bukamon," said Viximon, still laughing quietly to herself.

"Hey! You said I was 'husky' just a minute ago!"

"I guess she must've been blinded by your fat!" said Canimon before he and the others, again excluding Guilmon, burst into another round of laughter.

"Oh yeah?!" demanded Bukamon.

"Yeah!" Canimon asserted.

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"OH YEAH?!"

"YEAH!"

"Then I got your fat right here!"

Bukamon charged Canimon. In a second they were tumbling along the ground in a vicious brawl, clawing and snapping at one another. A couple more seconds passed and suddenly they were both laughing while continuing their mock fight. Their playful wrestling lasted only a short time longer before Frigimon, one of the digimon that had come to give Elecmon a hand, told them to break it up. They were both back in front of the campfire soon enough and getting along even better than they did before.

And all through this revelry, Guilmon seemed out of it, even more than normal. He stared away from the fire, away from his friends, or rather friend. Eventually he grew weary of laying around on his belly with his chin in the dirt and got up for a walk. No one even seemed to notice his departure. He strode forth, away from the fire and the smaller digimon and into the forest, shrouded in the cool grasp of night with only the staggering display of stars and the moon in the heavens to light his way. It wasn't very long at all before he was beyond sight of the fire and in only a few more minutes he was out of possible hearing range. Finally alone in the night forest, Guilmon flopped down onto his back and stared up through a clearing in the trees.

"Magnificent night, isn't it?"

"Who's there?!" Guilmon demanded, immediately shooting back to full alert.

"Relax, kid," said the wizened voice of Elecmon as he emerged from the trees.

"Were you following me?" asked Guilmon.

"Only because I know you need someone to talk to."

"You think you know what I need? Why don't you just back off, Elecmon?!"

"Relax. I'm not here to fight, kid. I just want you to know that I've seen what you're going through way too many times to count. Every digimon that's born here gets to feeling the urge to leave right about the time the digivolve to Rookie."

"Hey, I DON'T need your advice!"

"I think you'll want to here this, kid."

"Look here; if I wanted to leave I would've done it hours ago!"

"Sometimes there are digimon that reach that stage but just don't feel like they've grown up enough to leave us, and I usually agree with them. I think you're like that, Guilmon. I don't know how well you'd do out there with that attitude of yours, and ever since you found that digivice you've grown up a lot faster than I think you're ready for."

Guilmon looked away to shield his humbled expression and stayed silent.

"Guilmon, I know it's hard, but—"

"You don't know a thing!"

"This is what I mean! Grownups aren't afraid to admit when they're scared or frustrated or confused!"

"Shut up!"

"Guilmon, I—"

"I said, shut up!" Guilmon screamed and turned back to Elecmon with fire in his eyes and a vicious expression on his curled lips. "I'm not scared! You don't know what you're talking about! I'm gone! I'm leaving right this minute!"

"Just stay one more night and we'll talk about it in the morning."

"Talk about THIS in the morning! Pyro Sphere!"

Guilmon fired his attack, a surprisingly powerful condensed sphere of flame. However, his never having used such an attack before led his aim astray and he missed his target badly. Still, Elecmon was stunned that Guilmon would even attempt such a thing. It became clear to Elecmon that what was bothering Guilmon had been eating away at him for hours and he had just seen the explosive result.

"Now go away!" Guilmon barked.

"I guess I was wrong about you," Elecmon said sarcastically.

Elecmon turned and slowly walk away while Guilmon stayed behind, holding back his burning tears for as long as he could until he was satisfied that Elecmon could no longer see or hear him.

It was several hours before Guilmon returned to the village. When he reappeared from the woods he found that the fire had burnt itself out and all that remained were but a few smoldering ashes. The other digimon had all abandoned the site of their revelry, most likely returning to the buildings of Primary Village to rest for the night. Guilmon had only one interest left in this place and that was to retrieve his meager possessions, which amounted to no more than a few digidollars and junk he'd be better off without. This prize was easily recovered from where he had buried it outside the rear wall of the nursery building. Without so much as a single word, he looked over the village once and turned to go. Elecmon's tired eyes watched this of course, for he had taken a liking to Guilmon and was sorry it had come to such an end.

"Hopefully, it will not be an ending at all," Elecmon whispered to himself from where he was hidden away from Guilmon's sight. "With any luck he'll manage to grow up on his own, and I just might see him again when he's ready."

And that was how they parted ways and how Guilmon came to leave File Island, but it seemed providence still had a card to deal him, and that card had the chance to set the remainder of Guilmon's path in motion.

Roughly two hours after saying goodbye to Primary Village once and for all, Guilmon found himself in a small, dirty fishing village on File Island's west coast. He wandered the docks back and forth, hoping to come across a seafaring digimon that wouldn't mind giving him a ride away from this place once and for all. He had nearly given up hope of finding such a digimon and sat with his legs over the edge of the pier, considering the life he was about to undertake.

"Stupid Elecmon," he said with a sigh. "He's calling ME afraid? I'll show him. All show all of them that I'm made of better stuff than that."

He looked back down at the dark, swirling water and swung his legs back and forth absentmindedly. He sighed again.

"This seat taken?" asked a familiar voice.

Guilmon casually looked back and saw the darkened figure of Canimon, standing alone there in the dark with a hopeful look on his face. He held his digivice in the firm grip of his tail.

"I thought you'd still be sleeping off all the fun," said Guilmon.

"I thought I would too, but after you disappeared I had to go looking for you."

"Well, now you found me. Going back yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Well then I guess the seat is free after all."

Canimon hopped over and sat down beside his friend, looking out over the darkened sea before him. They were both silent for a short time.

"So what do you want?" asked Guilmon.

"Hey, you know. I was worried and all that stuff."

"Really?"

"Of course! You were the first friend I ever had."

"Yeah, well… You've got so many new friends now. I'm sure you won't miss me."

"You're leaving?"

"Yep. I'm getting away from this place right now."

"Then I'm coming too."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Sure, I have friends here. But I can make friends other places too, but never another first friend, never another best friend."

Guilmon looked at Canimon carefully and saw in his expression a kind of embarrassed optimism. Guilmon's face softened and at once his anger left him.

"Alright, I guess it'll just be the two of us. Best buds! Out in the world with no one to stop us!"

"Awesome!" Canimon exclaimed with an overjoyed bounce.

"Okay, Canimon. The first thing we need to do is get ourselves some transportation, and seeing as you're such a charmer…"

"I'm on it."

"Great! I'll try to get us a ride too. Meet back here in a few?"

"See you soon!"

They headed off in opposite directions and began to scour the dockside in search of anyone who could take them out that very night. But even as those two were preparing to head out on what they were both sure would be the adventure of a lifetime there were dark forces abound, and they were on the move. In the vast expanses of a seemingly endless wasteland, far from even the attention of the Guardians, there stood an ancient stronghold, a remnant of a forgotten war. But this place was no longer abandoned, as it had been for centuries. It seemed quiet enough to the casual observer, but barely visible pyres could be seen burning throughout the night. The cloudless night sky seemed unnaturally still and the land below was utterly dead, gray and brittle and lacking any kind of vegetation whatsoever. It was within that place that an evil force lay in wait for any foolish enough to cross it. The air was rank and burned the senses of those not fully adapted to it. In a huge stone chamber with columns and low-burning fire pits carved into the floor a fateful meeting was about to take place.

"What is it, dear patron?" asked a raspy, venomous voice in a condescending tone.

"It would seem your underlings have been rather sloppy," said the man in the black robe with green fringe.

"And what is it this time?" asked the first voice.

"That Meramon and the Tyrannomon were insignificant, but with Yashamon's defeat there are serious questions being raised in the west. Those twin digimon have had an investigation launched. If the Guardians catch wind of it then their suspicions will only grow."

"And how is that a problem?"

"You listen to me! We have not been at work all this time to have you come in and ruin everything. You WILL proceed more carefully from now on!"

The creature's eyes blazed a crimson red in the darkness as he rose up to an even more daunting height.

"Watch yourself, little one," he said in an even more hate-filled voice. "At this point you are quite expendable. If you value your life you will NOT anger me!"

"You forget, we still have the spore and all the precious data contained within. Kill us and it will be lost forever."

"You'd never run such a risk. You haven't worked throughout this past age to see it all lost like that. Besides, I could slay you all and take the spore in a heartbeat if I chose to do so."

The hooded figure looked into the eyes of his treacherous "ally" and knew that he would no longer be able to control the terrible beast that he had awakened. He came to a decision in that moment.

"I've come to tell you that you will not be seeing us for some time now."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. The Vanguard has much work to do before the Grand Scheme is finally complete. We're leaving you in charge of all operations here. It would be very beneficial to us if you would eradicate any possible opposition quickly. Your standing orders are to proceed as planned. Should the worst happen you must resort to the backup. We'll take care of acquiring more of the catalyst and we'll ensure the safety of the four little masters. We will return to you only once the time has come and we may free _him_."

"_Shattered dreams and broken bone,_

We'll soon reap what we have sown.

Come what may of our desire

To see this world wrapped again in fire."

"Quite."

"I am satisfied," the foul creature said with a slight laugh. "Go now, and do not return until all is finally ready."

"It shall be so…" the robed figure said as he melted into the shadow and was gone once again.

Several hours later, the sun had just barely begun to spread its fingers over the horizon. From where Angemon sat, it was a truly beautiful sunrise. Wine-red clouds stood out against the increasingly orange sky. The strange lighting blackened the green of the lush valley in which he had spent the night. The air was cool and damp and quite still.

Angemon stretched his tired muscles and yawned. He had come a great distance since he'd left File Island, and he now found himself on the border to the northern quadrant. But still, the city he sought was deep within the north, several days' flight away. Although he'd only been gone a short time he found himself deeply worried about what could be going on in his absence. He thought about Elecmon, Canimon, Omnimon, and his old friends. He wore an expression of deep concern, but he knew that the only way he could help them was to get to the Ivory Tower and uncover the truth behind the mysterious _Fifth Eye_. And so, he picked his staff up from where it lay, spread his wings, and continued heading north.

At that very moment, a Dolphmon was skimming along the surface of the ocean heading to the west, away from File Island. Curled up on his back were Guilmon and Canimon, fast asleep.

And back in the Shrine of the Dark Incarnate, Omnimon sat patiently. He knew that the day of reckoning was fast approaching, but there was nothing he could do at that moment. The major players had all begun their journeys. The stage was set. There could be no turning back.

===============================================================

[Just one thing before you go; my pictures, including those of Canimon and Mogumon, can now be seen in the 'photographs' section at groups.yahoo.com/groups/Digimon_Fan_Fiction. You'll need a yahoo ID to get in.]


	6. A New Look for Canimon

****

Day 8

"Omnimon! Omnimon!" Elecmon cried as he burst into the shrine and rushed up to the great knight.

"What is it, Elecmon?" Omnimon asked calmly.

"Guil… *gasp* Guilm… *wheeze* Guilmon and Cani—*cough*—mon!" the clearly exhausted Elecmon sputtered. "They're gone!"

"Yes, they left very early this morning," said Omnimon.

"You…knew?" Elecmon asked.

"Yes," said Omnimon, "and I'm sorry you had to run all the way up here to tell me."

"But how? Why?"

"They've gone to find their destiny."

"Well we have to go look for them!"

"No."

"No?"

"I could sense this coming. Those two will play a key part in the events that are unfolding in our world as we speak."

"But…but…but they're just children!"

"So were the DigiDestined when they came to our world, and just look at what they accomplished."

Elecmon was dumbstruck. He couldn't get out as much as a word while he digested what Omnimon had said.

"So you're saying they're some kind of heroes?" Elecmon finally managed to ask.

"Possibly," said Omnimon. "All that's certain is that they will prove important."

"What are you saying? Are you suggesting that they might turn out to be evil or something?"

"It's possible."

That same morning, Gargomon and Wendigomon had returned to Ice Rock, a large western city located high in Baihumon's Mountains. The sky was cold and gray, and fresh snow lined the streets. Steam poured into the air from the machines that drove the city's needs and smoke billowed from chimneys across the skyline. One of those chimneys came from the police station where Gargomon and Wendigomon had returned, minus their disguises, to report on the ongoing investigation. They stood in the office of their commanding officer, an aged WereGarurumon.

"We've sent out others based on the information you sent ahead of you," said WereGarurumon, "but so far we haven't learned a thing, boys."

"Nothing, sir?" asked Gargomon.

"Not a thing," said WereGarurumon. "If this Yashamon character did belong to some kind of cult or something they've covered their tracks quite well."

"What do you mean by 'if', sir?" asked Wendigomon.

"I mean I'm having doubts about this. Not that I doubt your story, mind you, but it sounds to me like that Yashamon had a few bats in the belfry. In my opinion, you were fooled into thinking there was more to that nutcase than meets the eye."

"That may be possible, sir," said Gargomon, "but I still think that caution is in order here."

"I hear you, so I'll give it a few more days. If nothing turns up, though, I'll call the case closed."

"But sir—" Gargomon began.

"No buts. You two are still on the case until it closes, so if you want it to stay open you should go out there and get me some solid evidence."

"Sir—"

"You have four days. Dismissed."

"But—"

"Dismissed!"

"Yes, sir," the brothers said disappointedly as they turned and walked out of WereGarurumon's office.

"So what do we do now?" Gargomon asked once they were back in the vacant hallway.

"We'd better find some evidence, and fast," said Wendigomon. "And I think we're more likely to find some if we split up."

"Agreed. But where do we start?"

"We probably won't find anything around here. I'll go back to Granite Gulch and try to find some witnesses. Someone could've seen him sneaking around, or maybe he had an informant in town."

"Good idea. I'll check out what's left of those other towns he attacked. Maybe we missed something while we were there last time."

"I only wish we had a lead, something to start with."

The twin digimon were so engrossed in their conversation that they only took a passing notice of the two men in beige robes that passed by them. One was a large, older man with a gray beard and white fringe on his robe. The other projected an almost arrogant attitude and looked to be a young human-like adult with gray fringe on his robe. It is very likely that Gargomon and Wendigomon would not have seen them at all had they not looked human. The two digimon continued to talk as the men strode into WereGarurumon's office.

It was right about that time that Dolphmon, at Guilmon's request, made landfall on a tiny island in the middle of the vast ocean. Canimon was still sleeping deeply when they arrived on the beach. Guilmon tried to wake him up as he disembarked.

"Come on, Canimon," said Guilmon, "it's time to get up!"

"How could he possibly sleep so much?" asked Dolphmon. "You've been trying to wake him for almost ten minutes!"

"I dunno. He just does."

"Well this isn't getting us anywhere."

"What do you suggest?"

"Here. I'll show you."

Dolphmon turned and headed a few yards back into the sea and suddenly dipped below the surface, taking Canimon along with him.

"Hey!" shouted Guilmon.

Dolphmon reappeared a second later with Canimon clinging to his back for dear life, sputtering and coughing up water. He looked like a drowned rat with his fur drooping under the weight of the absorbed seawater.

"Wakey, wakey!" said Dolphmon.

"Are you tryin' to kill me or something?!" shouted Canimon in between coughing fits.

Guilmon was doubled over in laughter at the sight of Canimon.

"That sure got you up," said Dolphmon, returning to the beach to let Canimon off.

Canimon bounced off Dolphmon and hit the sand, but not before sticking his tongue out. As he walked forward, Guilmon's laughter slowed and finally stopped.

"So what are we doing here?" asked Canimon. "Is this where we're going?"

"Nah," said Guilmon. "I just thought we should stop and grab a bite to eat at the nearest island. Server is still a little while away."

"Server?"

"Oh come on! We went over this twice!"

"Oh yeah, now I remember. It's the big island way over the western sea."

"It's a continent, not an island, but you got the right idea."

"Well if you don't need me anymore," Dolphmon said, "I'll be out getting my own lunch. I'll see you both back here in about an hour."

"Okay! See ya later!" said Canimon.

Dolphmon flipped over backwards and headed out to sea without another word. Alone again, Canimon and Guilmon turned to one another.

"So what do we do?" asked Canimon, attempting to shake his fur dry.

"We look around and see if we can find any food. Now we don't have a whole lot of time, so we should split up. We'll meet back here in half an hour with whatever we can find, okay?"

"Sounds good!" said Canimon.

"Alright then. See you soon."

"See ya!"

And then they were both really alone. Although it was only for a very short time, this was the first time that Canimon had been totally alone in his life. Nevertheless his cheerful attitude pulled him through as he headed deeper into the dense island jungle. Even at twenty minutes into his trek he found himself empty-handed. To him, even the large, tropical leaves were starting to look appetizing.

"So hungry…" he said, flopping down in the dirt. "My tummy is lonely!"

He then rolled onto his back and shut his eyes. Few knew how to over-dramatize a situation quite like Canimon.

"Hey, you all right?" someone asked, poking at Canimon.

Canimon didn't respond.

"I have some food if you—"

Before the mystery digimon could get out another syllable, Canimon sprung to life, devouring the piece of fruit the digimon held and nearly taking his whole hand along with it.

"Wow! This is so *munch* good! I've never *snarf* had any—*gulp*—thing quite like it!"

As Canimon slurped up the last of the juices he turned his eyes up to see who his rescuer had been.

"Who're you?" he asked.

"The name's Gazimon," said the tall, gray, rabbit-like digimon, "and don't you forget it."

"I won't!" Canimon said while licking his chops. "Hey! You wouldn't happen to have any more of that stuff, would you?"

"Maybe…" Gazimon said nonchalantly.

"Well do you?"

Gazimon looked at Canimon for a second. Seeming to come to a decision, he snapped his fingers and half a dozen Pagumon, the clearly less evolved form of Gazimon, sprang from behind the trees all around Canimon. Each of them carried a piece of the same delectable fruit Canimon had just engorged.

"Wow! Are they all for me?!" Canimon's tail wagged back and forth like it was attached to an engine.

"They COULD be…"

"Are they?"

Gazimon sighed, dismayed at Canimon's apparent inability to grasp the mildly subtle. "Only the first sample is free," he said. "If you want more, we'll need…payment."

"Payment?"

"Yes. I think that little doohickey you've got there should do nicely." He pointed to the digivice that Canimon gripped with his tail.

"My digivice?"

"Sounds like a good trade to me," said one Pagumon.

"I'd go for it," said another.

"You can't even eat that stupid thing," said a third.

"I don't know…" Canimon said.

"Come on, kid. You want to eat, don't you?"

Something about these digimon seemed sinister to Canimon. He felt he should get away from them and the sooner the better.

"Maybe another time."

"Oh, I don't think that'll work."

"I'll just be leaving now…"

"Wanna bet?" a Pagumon blocking Canimon's way asked.

"We can do this easy or hard," Gazimon said, cracking his knuckles. "Hand it over."

"Why do you want my digivice so bad?"

"Beats me. All I know is that my boss wants it, and if I can deliver it just might be my ticket off this stinkin' rock."

Canimon's eyes suddenly grew quite serious. "Then come and get it, if you think you can…"

"Pagumon! Attack!" Gazimon shouted.

Canimon found himself being mauled by all six Pagumon at once. They bit him from every angle they could get in at. For a few seconds it looked like he would go down without a fight. The tables were turned when Canimon shot away from the mob, rolling out to the pile's side and digging his clawed feet into the ground to regain his grip on the situation. The Pagumon immediately turned and charged again, but this time he had them all nice and lined up. The first Pagumon came in fast with bared teeth.

"Tail Slam!" shouted Canimon spinning completely around just in time to smack the approaching Pagumon across the face and send him flying back into one of his companions. For the second Pagumon, Canimon employed the same technique, striking this one vertically under the chin and knocking him senseless. Unfortunately for Canimon, he just wasn't fast enough to take down the next Pagumon who came at him with open jaws and clamped his dagger-like teeth down hard on Canimon. Canimon tried to spring away but the vicious little Pagumon held on tight.

"Yaah! Aah! Quit it! Ow! Stop biting my head!" he shouted as he ran about in circles.

Before Canimon could dislodge his attacker he was set upon by the other five Pagumon all at once. They surrounded him, biting and ramming him in a brutal mob. Within a few seconds he had disappeared from view beneath the writhing mass of Pagumon.

"Ha! Yes! That's it!" Gazimon chortled. "Make him bleed!"

Surrounded, bruised and nearly suffocating, Canimon was on the edge of collapse. But there was something in Gazimon's cruel laughter that called him to action. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tight. He could feel a low growl well up from deep inside himself, and it grew louder until it exploded.

"That's ENOUGH!" Canimon cried out. He threw all of the Pagumon back with one mighty shove. His pupils shrank and his fur stood on end. "Canimon…!" His digivice began to beep and glow. "Digivolve…!" A golden aura surrounded him. "To…!" There was a brilliant flash of light as his digivice surged with power. A column of light made up of the full spectrum of colors formed around him. "…JENOMON!"

In a second explosion of energy the energy around Canimon vanished, leaving not the happy-go-lucky In-Training Canimon, but a whole new Rookie digimon by the name of Jenomon. He was a mammal digimon that stood upright, three feet tall with slender limbs and a long tail. Each of his four paws was disproportionately large for his body and every digit was tipped with a curved, black claw. His face was somewhat canine in appearance, with an elongated muzzle, the occasional snaggletooth protruding from his curved lips and two large ears pointing back. Crowning his head was his thick, spiked red hair, which extended beyond his ears and pointed skyward. His stunning yellow eyes were held within rings of black fur. His body was covered in orange fur for the most part, but the hair on the top of his head and the thick tuft at the end of his tail was burnt red. The fur on his fingers and toes and from his face down his scrawny neck, over his puffed-out chest and down his slender belly was all white. His shoulders and upper legs were quite muscular but he maintained a thin, agile, pre-adolescent look.

"Hi there," Jenomon greeted in his new, slightly more mature voice.

"What the heck happened?!" cried one of the Pagumon.

"Oh come on. I bet you could figure it out," Jenomon said, tossing his digivice up into the air and catching it in his right paw.

"No way am I fighting that," said another Pagumon.

"You got the right idea," said a third. "I'm outta' here too."

"Wait for me!"

Within ten seconds, all six Pagumon had chickened out and fled into the forest.

"Well it looks like it's just you and me, Gazimon."

"Don't get too cocky, kid." Gazimon punched his palm. "You'll still lose."

"Let's play," Jenomon said with a smirk.

Gazimon lunged at Jenomon with a loud yell. He jabbed for Jenomon's face but Jenomon used his own paw to deflect the shot. Jenomon tried to counter with a spinning kick but Gazimon sucked his gut back, just out of reach for Jenomon's toes.

"That the best you got?!"

"Not even close!" Jenomon reached out with his right paw and grabbed Gazimon's left wrist. He pulled Gazimon in closer while bending his arm so he was able to slam Gazimon's eyes into his elbow. Gazimon yanked his arm away and stepped back, one hand rubbing his smarting eyes.

"You'll pay for that! Electric Stun Blast!" Gazimon's body discharged a potent electrical surge. When it struck Jenomon it knocked him back into a tree. As Jenomon slumped to the ground, groaning, Gazimon could see a few wisps of smoke begin to rise from his singed hairs.

"Ha! Ha, ha! What do you think of THAT?! Oh? What's that you say? You've fallen and you can't get up? Bwahahaha!"

"Actually…" Jenomon groaned, pushing himself up onto one knee, "I said I've had worse shocks from static cling."

"What?!"

"Let me show you how it's done!" Jenomon suddenly sprung to life. He pushed himself off the ground straight toward Gazimon. "Rage Claw!" He balled his right paw into a fist and stuck it out in front of him. The punch made contact with Gazimon's face a second later, spreading him out on his back.

Jenomon landed again and began rolling his right wrist to loosen it up after that last attack. Gazimon was quite unconscious, but even if he weren't he surely wouldn't want to try fighting Jenomon again.

"Stupid electric attack," said Jenomon, trying to flatten his now completely unruly hair. "Look at this! I'm all fuzzy now."

"Canimon! Oh Caaaaanimoooon!" the friendly voice of Guilmon called out from a little way away.

"I'm coming!" Canimon said before scampering off to the source of the yell on all fours.

It only took about a minute for Guilmon and Jenomon to track each other down. Naturally, Guilmon was surprised to see him recently digivolved to Rookie and he was fascinated by Jenomon's tale regarding his fight, but Jenomon was far more interested in the whole pile of tasty-looking mushrooms Guilmon presented him with. That's why Guilmon had to settle for hearing the story related in between mouthfuls and the occasional choking fit.

In another hour they were both on Dolphmon's back again, skimming along the ocean's surface. Guilmon had curled up for a nap and Jenomon was curled up on top of him, his fur whipped about by the wind. His eyes were closed and his muscles were loose. He was fast asleep and quite contented.

Jenomon felt very alone in the infinite, empty world. There was nothing, nothing but the cold, biting wind. He seemed to be floating, naked in spite of his thick fur, cold in spite of its warmth. Then a light appeared in the distance. It was a dim, menacing, crimson light; it was very faint, but it was growing more intense by the second. Jenomon began to hear strange sounds from the void; clicks, heavy breathing, and the noise of some foul creature slithering about echoed all around him. He looked around desperately but could see nothing but that accursed red light, which grew more and more intense with every passing eternity. And then he spied them. There were dozens of long, black, bone-like tentacles all around him, or maybe there were only a few that had encircled him many, many times. The sinister shapes glistened in the burning light. The cold sensation all but vanished as an intense heat began to overcome Jenomon. He felt something slice into his shoulder. A quick look revealed it was one of the tentacles. It was very close, and its edges were razor-sharp. He tried to cry out for help, but he felt like she couldn't get any air to his lungs. The shadowy whips drew in closer and closer, causing Jenomon to shrink back from them for fear for his life. Another cut his leg. Another got his ear. They were everywhere, and his fur and skin were like wet tissue paper to them. He looked around, absolutely terrified and desperate to escape. Soon the snaking tendrils were within inches of his body on all sides, slithering around one other. The light and painful heat were too much to handle. And then, a raspy, venomous voice spoke in Jenomon's ear. "_Come…come back to me, Jenomon._"

Jenomon's eyes shot open. He found himself bathed in a cold sweat. His breaths came short and rapid. It had been a dream, only a dream.

Far to the north, deep in Ebonwumon's forests, there stood one of many woodland villages. The wooden buildings were designed in the feudal Japanese style. The paths in the village were unpaved, but the air and water were fresh and clean. It was a peaceful, harmonious place, very different from the enormous modern cities that speckled the landscape of the northern quadrant. There were many different types of digimon living in the village, digimon of all shapes and sizes. But there were two very special digimon, and they lived in the largest building in town: the temple. It was in order to see these two that the stranger came to town.

Clad in a beige, hooded robe with green fringe, the kindly older Guardian walked through the center of town to the temple. The digimon outdoors all stopped to watch her, uncertain of whom she was or why she had come. Yet they did not fear her, for they all somehow knew there was nothing to fear.

When she reached the temple doors they swung open for her and she stepped into the dimly lit room. The smell of incense wafted up from where it was being burned in dishes. A few paper lanterns on the walls were the sole source of illumination. Before her sat one of the digimon she had come to find: a female Antylamon. Further ahead stood a curtain of woven reeds, concealing what lay beyond. The temple doors shut behind her.

"Good afternoon, Antylamon," said Minari.

Antylamon remained sitting in a meditative position on the wood floor. Her eyes opened upon hearing her name spoken. "Greetings. What may I help you with this morning?"

"I have come to speak with you and the priestess."

"I am sorry, but the priestess is not accepting visitors right now. I ask you to please return in one month's time. By then her meditative cycle should be completed and she may address your questions."

"I fear this matter is too urgent to be postponed. You see, I am Minari, matriarch of the Guardians, forerunner to the DigiDestined of Light and adviser to the high lord Omnimon."

"The priestess has asked not to be disturbed. Not even Lucemon himself could get an audience right now."

"I bring grievous news which could impact the entire Digital World."

"We will endure."

"There is a force on the move which could prove even more devastating than the D-Reaper."

Antylamon hesitated.

"I assume I have your attention now."

"Foolishness. How could there be anything more dangerous than—"

"There is little time remaining. In a month our entire world could be gone."

"Very well," Antylamon said after a moment's pause. "Come with me."

Antylamon stood up and pulled back the curtain behind her. Minari walked on ahead and Antylamon followed, letting the curtain drop. They had entered a Spartan room with more incense burners and lanterns. In the middle of a meditation mat sat the figure of Taomon, deep in thought.

"Priestess," Antylamon said quietly. "We have a visitor."

"I told you that I was not to be disturbed," Taomon said without opening her eyes.

"Please, you must listen to me," said Minari. "Though we have met on only a few occasions, I must ask you to listen to me."

"Is that you, Lady Minari?"

"It is I."

"You sound deeply troubled."

"As well I should be. There is a troubled time approaching."

"I have sensed this as well. Strange things have been happening. My attempts to divine the future have met with distressing results as of late."

"Then you know of what I speak."

"I know no more than that a great evil is preparing to come out of hiding."

"Can you sense what that evil may be?"

"Never before have I felt anything quite like this. The closest comparison I can make is to that horrible NightmareOmnimon creature that I sensed ten years ago. This has a similar feel, but its power and evil are far more intense, even when hidden from full view."

"I feared as much. We believe that this foe is the elder brother of that abomination. It is the Destroyer, lord of all demon digimon."

"I see. Is there any hope remaining?"

"Possibly. Often, the greatest heroes arise in the most dangerous times. Those heroes will need help, though."

"Then you have come to the wrong place. Antylamon and I may have fought the D-Reaper those many years ago, but now we do little more than watch over this town."

"I see. Now, I understand why you are here, Taomon. But why did you come north, Antylamon?"

"I came to the north with MarineAngemon hoping to join with the angelic order," said Antylamon, surprised by the question. "They allowed him to enter but turned me away and told me to return if ever I digivolve to my Mega form."

"Yes," said Taomon. "I have tried to help her fulfill her objective, but she is impatient."

"Give her time, Taomon. I can remember how the Sovereigns were when they were young."

"Truly?" asked Antylamon.

"Yes, truly. After Protomon was mortally wounded, he created the Guardians and instructed us to protect this world and raise the Sovereigns, the remains of his data, until they had grown up enough to govern on their own. We stuck by our vows and continue to do so with Omnimon, heir to Protomon's power."

"Wondrous," said Taomon. "I never even imagined the Sovereigns as being young once."

"Like all digimon, they too began in eggs. But now something threatens our world again, and I am sworn to stop it. That is why I have come. I need to learn where the Destroyer hides, so that Omnimon might slay him and end the terror before it can begin."

"That much I can attempt," said Taomon.

Taomon's right hand appeared from within her long sleeve. In it she held a deck of Digital World tarot cards. She quickly set about shuffling the deck while chanting an ancient mantra. A few seconds later she slapped the deck down on the mat and drew the first card.

"The Rivalry," she said, turning the card so Antylamon and Minari could see. It depicted two dragons, one white and one black, arranged in a yin-yang fashion, clawing and biting at one another. "This lies at the center of our the struggle."

Taomon set the card down on the mat and drew the second one. She looked at it and placed it down next to the first. It showed a set of iron bars.

"The Prison. This rivalry is very ancient, and very secret."

She drew the third card and set it down. On it was painted a horrible demon wrapped in fire.

"The Beast. This is the Destroyer's card. He is driven by his most basic desires. Unpredictable. Deadly. And yet he possesses a truly sinister intellect."

The next card showed a silver rapier.

"The Sword. I will need more to read this properly."

She drew three more cards and placed them. One showed an Agumon and a Palmon flirting. The second showed a bloodied knife. The third showed a pair of shackles.

"The Lover, the Betrayal and the Slave. This is very mysterious indeed. I see love with a tragic end. No good can come from this. They are centered around the Sword."

Two more cards were placed. The first depicted a vast desert. The second revealed a moon and a sun, both on the horizon with arrows indicating the sun to be rising and the moon to be setting.

"The Desert and the Dawn. The Destroyer is very well hidden. Far removed from sight. He is alone, at least for now. It could be either literally or metaphorically. The Desert also indicates dreams very often. The appearance of the Dawn confuses me, though. It should not appear here."

Minari looked at the card for a moment and it sparked something in her memory.

"A sun rises, a moon falls," said Minari. "It was often used in the Triadic Verse to indicate the passage of time."

"I see," said Taomon. She drew two more cards and placed them. The first showed a design that looked like a very ornate eye. The second showed a moon with a large crack down through its center.

"The Eye and the Cataclysm."

"No need to explain," said Minari. "I understand them. That eye no doubt signifies _the Fifth Eye_, which has caused us much worry lately. The cataclysm is no doubt the apocalyptic chaos and destruction it shall bring."

"You may be right, but there is more. Look at how the Eye, the Prison, and the Beast all center on the Rivalry. There is a deep connection there. I just know it. Shall I continue?"

"No. Don't bother." Minari stood up to leave.

"Is this really happening?" asked Antylamon.

"I wish it weren't," Minari replied.

"Can we stop it?"

"I'm not even sure we can contain it. If the Destroyer lives up to his reputation he will not be satisfied with the annihilation of one city or one quadrant. Even destroying the entire Digital World won't quench his thirst. If we don't stop him soon, he'll spread across this world and probably even into the human worlds."

"No!" said Antylamon.

"I cannot allow him to harm Rika!" said Taomon.

"The Destroyer's forces grow in number every day. We don't know where he is or how he recruits seemingly normal digimon, but he's out there. Having you two would surely bolster our defenses."

"Count me in," said Antylamon.

"Like I said, she is impatient," said Taomon. "But perhaps it is time to take on a more active role again. I didn't spend all that time fighting just to end up as a weak old monk."

"Excellent," Minari said. "For now you should remain here, though. We are still trying to remain discreet in our dealings with this matter. We can't afford to tip our hand now."

"So then we just sit on our hands until the world is destroyed?" asked Antylamon.

"No. You two will be part of a much larger force. Once we manage to isolate the Destroyer's position, all of our allies will meet up for a decisive assault. We still need agents to be on the lookout for any of the Destroyer's agents. The hope is that if we capture one alive we can learn the location of his hideout and end the impending war before the Destroyer can muster the full strength of an army."

"Very well," said Taomon. "We will be on the lookout."

"Thank you for your help. I'll be in contact when the time comes."

Minari turned quickly and walked through the reed curtain and out into the daylight.

[Be sure to check out my picture of Jenomon, which is now up at the site I mentioned last time.]


	7. Like Looking into a Mirror

****

Day 9

"You two all set?" Dolphmon asked.

"Yep. I think we should be just fine," said Guilmon. "Thanks for all your help."

"No problem. I won't even charge you. Mammals ride free because they look so funny when they're soaked." At that point Dolphmon looked over at Jenomon, who was trying to wring out his fur. "It kills me every time I see it. Ha!"

Jenomon didn't say anything, but he did stick out his tongue. The three had made landfall on Server's eastern coast late in the morning. It was a warm day, and Guilmon was glad he had such thick skin, or else his feet would have been frying on the sand.

"You're alright, kid," said Dolphmon. "If either of you need a ride back some time, be sure to look me up!"

"Bye!" Guilmon and Jenomon called out as Dolphmon disappeared beneath the azure sea.

"So where do we go now?" asked Jenomon.

"Uh…I don't know."

"Huh?"

"This was really as far as I planned. I don't even know if there's any villages near here."

"Nice. Real nice."

"Hey, don't worry! I'll think of something!"

"Well you can think all you want. I'm going to go look for lunch."

"But we just ate lunch! Remember those mushrooms we brought along from the island?"

"Oh yeah. I guess that means I'm going out to look for brunch then. Or is it too late for that? Wait, is it too early, maybe? I forget how it works. Never mind! I'm going to look for lunch part two!"

"Alright. But keep an eye out for roads! They could lead us to any towns around here."

"Okay!" Jenomon called back as he scampered over the sand dunes.

It didn't take Jenomon very long at all to cross over the beach and onto the inland terrain. To the north stretching down to the west he could make out a distant mountain range. In the same direction but much, much closer there stood a forest. It wasn't the largest forest by any means, probably not even as large as File Island's forest, but it probably held more food and definitely more shade than all the other territory in walking distance, the vast majority of which was arid grasslands.

Jenomon had reached the wooded area soon enough. Unlike the tropical jungles of File Island the trees here were suited to a temperate region, mostly deciduous. He sampled a few of the local berries but most of them just about made him retch. Next he tried a root he managed to pull from the ground after digging at it like a dog at a rabbit hole, but it was extraordinarily bitter and left a bad taste in his mouth. With his mouth hanging open so as not to get any more of that aftertaste, he investigated several other possible food sources. He nearly tried some suspicious mushrooms but thought better of it. He chewed on some very unpalatable tree bark. He even gave a couple flowers a lick or two, but nothing was to his liking. The fact of the matter was that he hated eating his greens. What he most wanted at that moment was a fish. Whether it was raw and still flopping about or filleted and served with parsley and a lemon wedge, he needed it. Even though he'd been on the ocean mere minutes earlier and Dolphmon had offered him a few fish along the way, he found even those to be nauseating. Apparently, his surprisingly sensitive constitution wouldn't put up with too much salt.

"Oh what I would give for one of Elecmon's freshly fried fish right now," he said to himself with his eyes closed, nearly tasting it on his lips. Even the thought made his stomach grumble all the more. "Sorry," he apologized to his belly, rubbing it with his paw. "I'm sure I'll find something soon."

"Hey! Who are you talking to down there?" a voice asked from up above.

"Huh?" Jenomon scanned the trees above him for who had said that.

"I said, who are you talking to?"

"Just my tummy. He's hungry."

Jenomon thought he saw where the voice was coming from, but there were a lot of leaves blocking his view.

"So why not eat something?"

"Because all the plants here taste really yucky."

"Oh, I don't know. You tried these?"

An object was flung from right where Jenomon had been looking. He caught it in his hands and stared at it for a while. It looked like nothing more than a large, green apple.

"No thanks."

"Give it a try."

"Okay. I guess I'll try anything at this point." He took a modest bite at first. He chewed, once, twice, a third time, and finally swallowed. "Wow," he said with a surprised expression. "That's actually pretty good. I've never tasted an apple like that."

"That's because it's beef-flavored, numbskull," the voice said as it began to climb its way down the tree.

"Beef?"

"Yeah. Most folks like to have 'em cooked, but I like them raw, myself."

"Well thanks," said Jenomon, taking a very large bite and enjoying it very much.

He then heard a soft thump on the ground before him. His eyes slowly moved up from his treat and he saw the digimon behind the voice for the first time. Slowly, his eyes passed over the white, furry toes, the slender orange legs and the slim torso, all before coming to rest on those eyes. Those mysterious, yellow eyes. The digimon that stood before him was a Jenomon, but there was something…different.

"Hi there," she said with a wink.

That Jenomon was a she. Jenomon's heart fluttered and his mouth went dry.

"H-hi there," he said, in a bit of a tizzy.

She held a whole pile of those delicious apples in her arms. Her frame was slightly slimmer than her male counterpart's and her fur was well groomed. She also had a single lock of hair atop her head that defied the rest, pointing forward and coming down past her muzzle. Jenomon was stunned, so it was she that made the first move.

"I've got more here than I can eat," she said as she walked over to him. She set the apples on the ground in between them and wiped the sweat from her brow before returning her gaze to him. "Hey, look at that. I must be six inches taller than you. You're sure a cute little guy…"

"Little?!" Jenomon yelped indignantly, snapping out of his waking coma. "I'm not little!"

"Oh sure you are." She pinched his cheek.

"Cut it out!" He batted her hand away.

"Aww. You're just being a little fussy."

"No I'm not!"

"Of course I can't really expect too much from a little boy like you…"

"Oh yeah? Well…your apples taste like, uh, wood!"

"Ooh. Low blow."

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up."

"YOU shut up!"

"No, YOU shut up."

"Urrrgh!"

"Relax. You'll bust a vein that way."

"You better be nice to me or else I'm leaving!"

"Don't be such a whiney baby."

"I am not a baby!"

"Whatever you say…baby."

"That's it! I'm leaving!" Jenomon turned and began to walk away.

"Oh come on. I'll stop now."

"No," said Jenomon, stopping but not turning back around.

"Look, I'm sorry. Okay?"

"And…?"

"And you can share these meat-apples with me."

"Well, I do hate holding a grudge," Jenomon said as he quickly turned back and pounced on the pile of snacks his female counterpart had in front of her.

Jenomon lay on his belly, eagerly biting into his lunch, or brunch, or whatever it was. In any case the sight of him made his new friend smile. She sat down cross-legged on the other side of the pile from him and picked up an apple. She began paring it with her right thumb-claw. She'd sliced off nearly all of the peel in one clean strip soon enough and began to cut sections from the apple by the time Jenomon was digging at his third apple, two discarded cores by his side. His face and paws were sticky with apple juice.

"You know, you really should learn some manners."

"Huh?" asked Jenomon, a little piece of meat-apple falling from his mouth.

"For instance, have you considered sitting up straight? Or eating like a civilized digimon? Or have you even thought about what we're supposed to call each other?"

"No. Not really." He started gnawing away again.

"Well how do you think a conversation might go? 'How are you, Jenomon?' 'Just fine, Jenomon. And you, Jenomon?' 'Can't complain, Jenomon.' It's ridiculous!"

"Wow. I had no idea we were so boring."

"Look, I've seen a lot of places where two or more of the same type of digimon live and work together. They usually use names. I don't really have one because I've never met another like me and everyone just calls me Jenomon, but now I know you. So don't you think we should come up with names?"

"Sure. I guess. If you want." Jenomon wasn't really paying that much attention.

"Oh! I've got a great idea! How about we think up names for each other? I'll go first."

"Uh-huh."

"Now let me think. What name should you have…?"

A few seconds passed. Jenomon tossed away the spent meat-apple and licked his claws.

"I think I've got it," she said. "How about 'Nari'?"

"Nari?"

"Sure! It's perfect!"

"Really?" He looked himself up and down. "I don't feel like a Nari."

"But you look it, and that's what counts."

"What does it mean?"

"It's Hindi for 'great warrior.'"

"What's Hindi?"

"It's a human language. Didn't they teach you anything in school?"

"Actually, I never went."

"But…but I thought all digimon went to school. What are you, some kind of south quadrant backwoodsmon?"

"No, I'm from here. I just arrived from File Island."

"File Island? Where Primary Village is? Wow, you really must be new."

"I'm not THAT new. I'm just about to hit double-digits."

"Months?"

"Days."

"Days?!"

"Yeah. Is there something weird about that?"

"Well, judging by how you eat, I guess not…Nari."

"Thanks…I think."

"But how could such a little guy make it all the way here from File Island when he's only a few days old?"

"I don't know. How do you get your hair to do that thing?"

"This isn't about me! Anyway, you've got to have _some_ help, right? I mean, I doubt you swam here."

"Of course not. Dolphmon gave me a ride."

"So…you're all alone?"

"No. I've still got Guilmon with me."

"Guilmon?"

"Sure! He's my best friend in the whole wide world."

"Hey Jenomon! Are you in there?!" Guilmon's voice called as if on cue.

"Well speak of the Devimon," said Jenomon. "That's Guilmon. I bet he'd love to meet you. Guilmon! I'm back here!"

"Great," she groaned.

"I hear ya'!" Guilmon shouted. "I'm coming in!"

About a minute passed before the two Jenomon saw some rustling in the foliage. Guilmon popped out a second later.

"You just can't help wandering off, can you Jen—oh."

"Hi, Guilmon! This is Jenomon…uh, another Jenomon."

"Hi there Guilmon," she said with a smile and a wave.

"Hey, neat," said Guilmon. "It's nice to meet you. Hey pal, I'm thinking it might be a good idea if we didn't split up anymore. This is a new continent and after that incident with Gazimon…"

"Okay, fine, whatever."

"Hey Guilmon, catch." The she-Jenomon tossed the dinosaur one of the meat-apples. He caught it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"Wow," he said. "Those are pretty good."

"Then come over and have a few," said Jenomon.

Guilmon eagerly accepted and the three of them sat down for a meal. The two Jenomon went back to eating just as they had before. Their opposing styles made themselves immediately apparent to Guilmon, who opted to take the middle ground by quartering his meat-apples with his claws and eating the sections whole.

"Sit up, Jenomon," Guilmon scolded without even realizing it.

Jenomon stuck his tongue out at his friend.

"So Guilmon, where are you two from?"

"We just got in from File Island, over the eastern sea," he explained.

"That's what Jenomon said. Sounds nice. Why'd you leave?"

"Felt like it."

"And I sure couldn't let him go alone," said Jenomon, having just finished off another course. "He'd never make it without me."

"Oh? I'd think it was the other way around," she laughed.

"Yeah? Well what's a girl doing out here all alone?" Jenomon countered.

"Whatever it is, I'm doing it a lot better than you," was her reply.

"Don't pick on girls, Jenomon," said Guilmon. "It always ends up backfiring."

"Oh man…that's no fair."

"So where you headed?"

"We don't know, really. This is our first time here. You know any towns?" asked Guilmon.

"Well I'm pretty new to the area too…but I did pass through a little place yesterday. Seemed nice. You might get directions from there."

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Which way is it?"

"Just head north to the river and go upstream until you hit town. Can't miss it."

"Thanks a lot, Jenomon."

"Muh mi muh, mimomuh," Jenomon said mockingly, rolling his eyes.

"Something wrong?" Guilmon asked impatiently.

"We don't need directions from some chick we just met in the woods!" said Jenomon. "Come on, let's just forge our own path!"

"Yeah, you've done a killer job so far. When I first saw you, you were chewing bark and licking flowers. If this 'chick' hadn't shown up you'd probably be gnawing on a rock right now to see if it was edible!"

Guilmon stifled a laugh.

"Hey, just who's the Nari around here?"

"That would be you," she said.

"So there!"

"Nari?" asked Guilmon.

"It means 'great warrior,'" Jenomon said proudly. "She gave it to me."

"Well then, o great warrior," said their female companion. "Why don't you go get us some more apples? They're in that tree over there." She pointed.

"Sure! No problem!" He ran over to the tree she indicated and began clawing his way up the trunk. The other two watched from below.

Guilmon turned to his new friend. "It doesn't really mean great warrior, does it."

"Nope," she said with a smirk. "It means 'woman'. I thought about calling him half-pint, but then he might have actually left."

"You're a cold one," said Guilmon. "But I do like your style."

"Hey, Guilmon?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you hang around together?"

"I guess it's because we're best friends. We've been together since he hatched."

"Always?"

"For the most part."

"What does that mean?"

"Well…when he digivolved to Canimon he started making friends…lots of friends. I was still there but he seemed to like them more or something. But when I decided to leave he stuck with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you leave?"

"Because Elecmon was getting on my case. He was being a real jerk too."

"Don't you just hate how older digimon can get like that?"

"I know! It's like he thinks he owns the world! The guy is on a total power trip."

"So you left."

"Yeah. I don't have to put up with that."

"You sure don't. Is that why Jenomon left too?"

"Nah. He just saw me leaving and decided to tag along."

"Sounds like a really good friend."

"Uh-huh."

"…Leaving all his new friends behind just for you."

"Yeah he—oh. Oh…"

"I think you see where I'm going."

"Oh nuts, you're right. What did I do? He was happy there. But when I left he insisted on coming with me…and I let him. I must be the worst friend ever."

"Don't say that. It's not true. I can tell. You must be doing something right if you've got him so dedicated to being your friend."

"Yeah, but…"

"Listen," she whispered. "You're all he's got now. He's cute and all, but let's face facts. He'll get eaten alive without someone levelheaded around. I know I just met you, but I bet you're like that. I can tell these things."

"Yeah. I guess I do take things a lot more seriously than he does."

"He strikes me as the incredibly naïve type, and that's why he needs you to be around for him. I wouldn't want to see him get hurt."

"Why? Do you…like him?"

"What?! That's insane! I just don't want him hurt because I wouldn't mind seeing you guys again someday."

"Well why don't you come with us?"

"No way. I've got to be out there, free and on my own. And I don't need to be babysitting."

"Fair enough."

"Got it!" Jenomon called out from up in the tree. "Wuh-oh! Whoa, whoa WHOA!"

A second later he could be seen falling right out of the tree and hitting the ground with a thunderous crash.

"Jenomon!" shouted Guilmon, rushing over to his fallen friend.

"Yep. Babysitting. I don't envy you, Guilmon." She shook her head in dismay.

Jenomon was, of course, just fine. Nothing more than a bump on the head, really. The other two gave him a look over and both agreed there was nothing to worry about. Having finished lunch and eager to get on her way, Jenomon's female alter ego said her good-byes quickly and ran off through the forest to the southwest. In spite of Jenomon's objections, he and Guilmon took the off on the course their new friend had recommended to them for getting to the nearest town. But even as they walked, grievous doubts had begun to take hold in Guilmon's heart.

"By the way," said Jenomon.

"Yeah?" asked Guilmon.

"I want you to call me Nari from now on. I like the sound of it."

"Um, Jenomon?"

"Yeah?"

"It doesn't mean 'great warrior.' It means 'woman.' She was calling you a chick, dude."

"What? No way! She'd never do something like…like…ah crap!"

"So you still want me to call you Nari?"

"Shut up."

For such a small mining town, the Granite Gulch station was pretty busy. The large clock hanging over the main terminal rang to signal the arrival of noon just as another train-type digimon known as a Trailmon pulled into the station. It slowed to a stop next to the platform, shooting steam from its exhausted wheels. As all the doors in the cars behind it swung open a number of different digimon began to disembark, including one very special Wendigomon. He had again donned his poncho and wide-brimmed hat. He knew that by then his brother would have already launched headfirst into his own inquiry and with only three days left to investigate he would have to move swiftly.

Wendigomon began to walk determinedly out of the station, gripping a piece of paper in his hand. On it was written the name of the specific mine where he could find his informant, an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He figured it was about time they renewed their acquaintance. If anyone knew what was up in this town, it would be Armadillomon.

Over the course of an hour, Wendigomon managed to acquire directions to the mine from one of the locals and made the trek there. It took no small effort, but eventually he found exactly who he was looking for.

"So what have you been up to these last few years?" Armadillomon asked as he tried to wipe some of the dirt and dust from his face.

The two spoke deep in the mine, in a passage lit only by torches. No one else was around so Armadillomon had little to worry about.

"I signed on with the police up in Ice Rock."

Armadillomon whistled. "Wow. Ice Rock. There's a big city if I've ever seen one. I couldn't stand it; that's why I live way out here."

"And for once I'm glad you do. I'm sure you know about what happened a couple days ago."

"You mean with that Yashamon character? Everyone in town knows. There's a lot of speculation going on around here." He really drew out the word "lot."

"I expected as much. That's why I came to you. I knew I could get the honest truth out of an old friend."

"Shoot. We ain't been friends for a long time now. I'm surprised you even knew I was here."

"The way I see it, saving the world together makes us friends for life."

"I guess that's a pretty good point. Course it's not like I wasn't gonna' help you out anyway. Now look here, the person that can really tell you what you want to know about that Yashamon is a Gardromon we've got in town at the machinist's place. He came in all broken down. Claimed he worked in the town that was hit in Yashamon's first attack."

"Perfect. Thanks a lot, Armadillomon."

"And Wendigomon, I've got to tell you something else about him. You remember back when we were fighin' NightmareOmnimon? How he transported us to that other world where we met those Trainers or whatever they were called?"

"I think it was 'Tamers.'"

"Right. Well, anyway, that Gardromon seemed familiar to me when he came into town. I got to talking with him and found out that he's the very same Gardromon we met way back then."

"Really? What are the odds of that?"

"But that's not the weirdest thing. He doesn't remember ever meeting us…any of us."

"But don't you remember? Omnimon explained how once NightmareOmnimon was destroyed, all the damage he'd done to history was undone, including our meeting the Tamers."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"I can't blame you. I mean, it was ten years ago."

"In any case, you should see him about the incident with Yashamon. I got the feeling from him that he suspects Yashamon was after him."

"Well if he was, that could be just the break I need. Thanks, Armadillomon."

"No problem. And don't be a stranger. Visit every now and then."

"I'll do my best," Wendigomon said with a wave as he quickly departed.

Even as Wendigomon rushed off to introduce himself to Gardromon, a magnificent sight was unfolding itself before a very special digimon far to the north. Angemon had never seen anything quite like it. Not even the largest, most beautiful human cities could compare with the vision of Polaris City, the largest city in the entire Digital World as well as its unofficial capital. It was also one of the Digital World's cleanest and most beautiful cities. Skyscrapers of both common and highly exotic design were tightly packed in the city's central cosmopolitan complex, which stretched out for miles. The ancient black trees and other forms of plant-life that dominated the northern landscape were welcome in the city as well, growing up, along and between the great buildings. Many structures even incorporated these ancient wonders of Ebonwumon's realm into the very design of the building. Elevated walkways were built far above the city's ground traffic between the skyscrapers. Work crews and a history of pride in the city kept its streets and structures clean and shining. And everywhere one looked there were digimon. There must have been millions of them. Angemon could never have imagined that so many digimon even existed. Those that could fly often chose to take to the sky for their transportation needs and those who couldn't would either walk well above the main streets or make use of the excellent public transportation facilities down on ground level. If this city could be said to have one vice that truly gripped it, Angemon knew that it was pride almost to the point of arrogance. From what he'd heard, many north quadrant digimon look down their noses at those from the other quadrants, seeing them as primitives for the most part. He knew he would have to be on his best behavior to prove them wrong and gain the confidence of the locals.

And then he saw it, rising from the ashen city like a great, white glowing phoenix. Taller and more beautiful than any other building in the entire city, there was no doubt that it had to be the magnificent Ivory Tower, home to the angelic order and Lucemon. The tower was made from a beautiful white marble that seemed almost as though it were carved in one solid piece. The structure's organic curves gave it a large base, around which was set a grand garden, and a narrow top level which was orbited by an ornate floating ring, gold and wider than even the base, suspended by some mysterious force. It took Angemon a moment to take in the beauty of this place. After viewing the tower for a few moments he began searching for the entrance. It was on the elevated walkway, a large stairway with ancient trees growing up the tower's walls on either side. Angemon went in for a landing.

"Amazing…" he said upon setting foot on the stone plaza around the main entrance. "Simply beautiful."

There were many other digimon walking by, some of whom were likewise viewing the spire. There were even a few angel digimon congregating near the grand entryway. The great ring circling high above cast strange and wonderful patterns of shadow across the commons. Angemon drew in a breath and walked up to the gate, which was actually three doors. There was a very large door in the center that looked to be almost strictly ceremonial. On either side a couple yards from the center door stood two smaller double-doors, likewise ornately designed but not nearly as majestic. In the spaces between the doors, standing very still and erect, were what looked like to be a pair of guards. They bore a strong similarity to Knightmon, but they were much less bulky and carried large, silver spears rather than swords. And they also each had a pair of white, feathered wings folded behind them. Their helmets were molded to like as though small, metal wings protruded from the sides, and emblazoned on their foreheads was the Crest of Hope.

"Hold, Angemon," said one of the guards upon seeing his approach. "I do not recognize you. Why have you come to this hallowed site?"

"I have come on behalf of Omnimon and the Guardians," Angemon said as eloquently as he could, "to study and to seek an audience with the great Lucemon."

"As you surely know, our gates are open to any angel who wishes to pass through them, whether or not they are of the order. Even our libraries are open to you. However, no one may seek an audience with Lord Lucemon. It is solely at his discretion that you will speak with him."

"I thank you, good knight, for allowing me to pass."

"Just take care within these walls. This place is the sacred wellspring of light and wisdom, the greatest bastion of hope for this world, and any who disrespect it shall be removed."

The guard tapped his spear on the ground once and the smaller door beside him began to open.

"You may enter, good Angemon. May Lord Lucemon's gentle countenance smile down upon you in all of your endeavors."

"Thank you. Excuse me if this is rude, but what can I call you?"

"We are the HolyKnightmon, Ultimate digimon all and the personal guard of Lord Lucemon. If ever you need aid in any way it would be our privilege and our duty to assist you."

"Thank you again, HolyKnightmon."

Angemon quickly bowed and walked toward the now open gateway. Standing before it, it seemed as though a sheet of impenetrable light had been pulled before his eyes, but it was a tender and inviting light. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Within these walls he would find Lucemon, his dear friend and eternal ally Angewomon, and, with any luck at all, the answer to a thousand-year-old riddle left behind by Protomon. He stepped inside.


	8. Change of Pace

[I'm back again with a new chapter and a new picture if you'd care to check it out. Sorry it took me longer than normal, but I had my high school graduation last week (yay) so I've been rather busy. I hope this was worth the wait.]

The light was nearly blinding for a moment, but then it was gone. Angemon had passed through the entrance and into the Ivory Tower. The inside was composed of the same shimmering marble as the outside, but inside there was much more. He took a few steps forward into the grand entrance hall. It was a room that seemed to go all the way up to the very top of the building, and a large circular hole surrounded by guardrails in the center of the room's floor revealed a pit that surely went down to the tower's very base. In either direction the most distant areas were little more than white blurs. The air seemed almost too fresh to be indoors; it was almost like he was outside. Angemon quickly concluded that the source had to be the many, many potted plants and wall-climbing ivy that existed within the tower. There was the underlying quiet murmur of other digimon all around him, coming from the many, many different angel digimon. He witnessed a MagnaAngemon and a HolyKnightmon appear from the hole in the floor and continue on to the upper levels. Thus he drew the conclusion that the purpose behind the unusual design was so that angel digimon, all of whom could presumably fly, would be able to move quickly between levels at will without needing to rely on stairs or elevators.

Having taken in the whole scene, Angemon nonchalantly began looking for some manner of directory. Finding none, he chose to approach one of the other angels to ask his question.

"Excuse me, sir," said Angemon, poking a Goldramon on the shoulder.

"Yes?" the majestic digimon asked, turning to him.

"I wonder if you might help me. I've arrived just now and I need to find someone who I'm supposed to meet. She's an Angewomon."

"Sorry to tell you this, but that doesn't narrow it down a whole lot. Does she know you're coming?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think so."

"I see. Well you might check with the visitor's center two floors down on the Bishop level. They can help you find this Angewomon and even get you a guestroom while you are staying with us."

"Thank you very much."

"You are welcome. By the way, I am a teacher of meditation and martial disciplines here. If you happen to have time during your stay, I would like it if you would attend one of my classes. They take place on the Templar level seven floors up and I am always pleased to have new students."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to do that if time permits me. But while I have your ear, can I ask one more thing?"

"Certainly."

"Is there any way I can pursue an audience with Lucemon?"

"I'm afraid Lord Lucemon rarely holds open forums anymore, and private meetings are almost unheard of. For as long as I can remember he has always been a very solitary digimon, isolated from all others. I suppose that is the price of such immense power and responsibility."

"So then there's no hope?"

"Well…there's always hope. Of course there's nothing you can do directly. Lucemon will be able to sense your need to see him, and if your reasons deserve his attention he can sense that as well. Somehow, he always sees to it that all who come here are subtly given the answers that they must hear."

"Thank you again, Goldramon."

"Think nothing of it. Good luck in your search."

"Goodbye."

Back in Granite Gulch, Wendigomon sat down across from an injured Gardromon in the machinist's shop. It wasn't exactly the Ritz; the cold cement floor was covered in oil stains. All manners of electronics hung from the walls, out of open drawers and from the ceiling. Sparks flew from a Mekanorimon who was up on the rack on the other side of the room having part of his framework welded back together. Although Gardromon had clearly endured quite a bit of damage he had proven himself amazingly resilient. In spite of the many dents to his body, the occasional wire sticking out, and the missing arm for which he awaited a replacement, he was in good spirits.

"So you are the one who finally put a stop to that Yashamon," said Gardromon. "I definitely appreciate it, sir."

"Well, he technically put a stop to himself," said Wendigomon.

"No matter! The point is that I no longer need worry about him hunting me down."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because I was his target the whole time."

"How do you know?"

"I was there when he first attacked. I was on guard duty and he busted into town and started destroying my fellow guards left and right. When I stood up to him he said he recognized me as the one he was sent to eliminate. He was a strong one without a doubt; he managed to beat me in only a couple minutes. Before he could strike the last blow, though, someone intervened and I was spared. That's when my systems went offline and I woke up here. Yashamon tried to hunt me down, destroying every town he passed through on his way here."

"I'm glad I got to him before he got to you."

"So am I. I owe you my most humble thanks."

"That's nice, but what I really need is information."

"I'm afraid I've told you most of what I know about him already, but I will happily surrender the rest to you. From what I have learned I am able to surmise that he was an assassin sent to kill me."

"Why would anyone want you dead?"

"To target me specifically would be illogical if he wanted to destroy or rob the town. Outside of my brief time in the real world, my life has been unremarkable. It makes little sense for anyone to want me dead specifically."

"Then maybe our answer lies in how you are remarkable."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to learn more about this assassin if I am to piece any more together. But it seems like you should be safe for now. I've got to keep looking for where this assassin came from."

"He came from the south."

"What?"

"He entered town through the southern entrance."

"Oh, I see. Well thanks for your time."

"You are welcome."

Having excused himself, Wendigomon turned and left. Now he was armed with the knowledge that Yashamon may have been a hired killer and his target could have been Gardromon, but the reasoning behind it all seemed more elusive than ever. He knew he had no chance of discovering the source of all this until the motive became clear. He was so wrapped up in all of this that he didn't see the two figures standing in his path.

"Hold a moment, Wendigomon," the one with the gray beard and white-fringed beige robe said commandingly.

Wendigomon looked up and stopped in his tracks. The other one was smaller with no beard and gray fringe; he remained silent.

"What do you want?" asked Wendigomon.

"We are two of the Guardians. I am Kandack and this is my associate Loki."

"We know about what you've been up to lately," said Loki, "and we want you to rest assured that your investigation won't be closed. There's more at stake here than you could even imagine."

"Wha—"

"Quiet. Just listen," Loki commanded. "There's a cancer growing in this world, a cancer known simply as 'the Destroyer.' Soon, every square inch of this land will be infected with his villainy. You may no longer be one of the chosen, but you still have a duty to protect this world."

"What my over-dramatic friend is saying is that we need your help once again. We've spoken with your commander, WereGarurumon, on this matter and he's agreed to keep the investigation open, but you and your brother won't have help. This thing needs to be kept as clandestine as possible. Follow the clues you gather and with luck you should arrive at the same conclusion as the rest of us. That way we'll know we've got the right target, because we may only have one shot at this."

"One shot at what?"

"One shot at finding the Destroyer and stopping the Grand Scheme."

"Can't you help me at all?"

"Yes. We can tell you that Yashamon worked for the Destroyer. We're not sure if they ever had direct contact, but we do know that Gardromon was only one of many targets. Dozens of digimon who had been joined to human partners in the past already lie dead, and Yashamon was not the first assassin. However, he was the strongest to date. Beware, for the next hired gun will no doubt be a great deal stronger than even Yashamon. Find him, capture him, and you will get everything you need to know."

"Sounds like I'll need help."

"No doubt. That's why we contacted your brother. He will be here in one day. Just pray your would-be assassin doesn't arrive first."

And without as much as a goodbye, the Guardians turned and vanished in their usual manner. Wendigomon had been left stunned, trying to process what had just been dumped on him by the two strangers. For the first time, it was being revealed to him the true grandeur of what he was becoming involved in.

Despite all the recent disturbances that rippled throughout the Digital World, the Earth remained unaffected by it; it always had enough problems of its own. But none of those problems were particularly evident that sunny New York City afternoon at the coffee shop. A young couple sat at one of the round metal tables just outside being affectionate, grooming one another like chimpanzees. The third member of their party appeared a moment later from just inside after using the facilities.

"The coffee here yet?" the young man with short, dark hair, glasses and a goatee asked.

"Looks like tonsillitis to me," the blonde curly-haired man said as a quick excuse after breaking away from his girlfriend.

"Oh please. If I'd come out twenty seconds later you two would've been making out like college freshmen."

The young lady laughed. "Sorry, Joe. No coffee yet."

"Of course not," Joe remarked.

"I don't mind if you don't, Mimi-bear," said the blonde.

"I'm fine with this, Mikey-poo."

"Jeez," said Joe. "You done with that paper, Michael? Or is it 'Mikey-poo' now?"

"Here." Michael handed over his newspaper and went back to locking eyes with Mimi. Joe was just glad they weren't locking lips.

"I can't wait until you two are past the insanely cute phase," Joe said as he opened the paper.

"Did you here that?" Mimi asked indignantly. Suddenly, here tone changed. "He thinks we're cute."

"Aww…" Michael said and gave Mimi a quick peck on the cheek.

"Well don't look now, but your competition just arrived," Joe said as he looked over the top edge of the paper.

Mimi and Michael looked too. Another couple had just turned the corner, holding one another very close. Both were in their mid-twenties and wore dark sunglasses. The girl had straight, blonde hair pulled back in a chic ponytail and a gorgeous body, which she had practically bought. Rumors persisted that underneath those black high-heels, that black skirt, blue blouse and short leather jacket, she was more silicon than anything else. On her right and in her close embrace was a taller man with dark brown hair that was cut shorter than it had been at one time but maintained the same basic shape. He wore a pair of tan slacks and a red polo shirt.

"What do you suppose they're doing here this time of day?" asked Mimi.

"Beats me," Michael replied. "Maybe they're like us and just couldn't stand to be apart all day long."

"Aww," Mimi cooed and gave Michael a peck on the nose.

"If they stop I just may have an aneurysm," Joe remarked.

"Hi everybody!" the woman called out in a cheerful voice as she and her partner approached the table.

"Hi, Amber!" Mimi said as she stood up to greet her with a hug.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" asked Michael.

"Took the day off," the man, Jack, replied, "to spend with my fiancée."

"Isn't my wacky-Jacky a sweetheart?" asked Amber.

"Oh stop," Jack said modestly.

"Yes. Please do," said Joe.

"So is the big date all set?" Michael asked.

"Well, we've been thinking about it a lot…" said Jack.

"Oh let me tell them," said Amber.

"Alright, honey."

"We were up all night because we knew we just had to pick the perfect day. Finally I said that we should do it up in Maine on the first day of winter. Winter has always been my favorite time of year, don't you think?"

"Oh yes, winter is very lovely," said Mimi.

"I've always kind of liked the summer myself," said Jack. "Nothing beats a hot day at the beach. And just think how soon we could be married if we'd picked summer instead of winter."

"But we picked winter, Jacky."

"Of course."

"Anyway, that's when we're doing it. We'll book a big, beautiful church and everyone we know will be there. Oh I just can't wait to get my wedding dress!"

"Why don't you two sit down for a while?" suggested Michael.

Joe cursed silently.

"Well, we were going to the park—" Jack started.

"Oh come on. We won't be long," said Amber.

"Alright," said Jack as he pulled out one of the chairs for Amber.

The coffee arrived as Jack grabbed a chair from another table and sat down with the others.

"Finally," Joe said, drinking the first sip of his Java jumpstart.

"So what about you two?" Amber asked of Mimi and Michael. "Any new developments? Ever think about moving in together?"

"You know, it really hasn't come up," said Michael.

"But she's right, you know," Mimi said to Michael. "We haven't even talked about that."

"You want to?"

"I'm just saying it'd be nice to know we're moving forward."

"Well sure, we could talk about it."

"Great. When?"

"I don't know. Sometime soon."

"Okay, but don't forget."

"So Jack, have you heard about Ken and Yolei?" asked Joe.

"Yeah. Mimi told me. Isn't it great?"

"So are you going?"

"Probably not. I mean, it's been almost a decade since they last saw me. They probably won't even invite me."

"I bet they do."

"If they do I'll think about it."

"Oh we should," said Amber. "I've always wanted to go to Japan. And I could meet all of your old friends. Don't you think that we be the most fun ever? Sit up, dear."

Jack corrected his posture. "If they invite me I'll think about it. And if I do decide to go I'll take you with me. How's that sound?"

"Oh I'm so happy! I'm going to Japan!"

"Relax, honey. I don't think it's for another couple months yet."

"Oh well. I think I can wait if you can, my wacky-Jacky."

"I hope to see you guys there," said Joe.

"Oh Jacky, I almost forgot. Tomorrow is Friday and we don't have any plans yet. What do you want to do tomorrow night?"

"The same thing we do every night, Pinky…" Jack said with a little smile.

Amber just looked at him quizzically. "Huh?"

"Never mind, just a stupid joke. How about a play?"

"Oh it sounds lovely. Maybe we could go to one of those little French bistros afterwards."

"If you want, sweetie."

"Maybe we could do something romantic like that too," suggested Mimi.

Joe rolled his eyes.

"So shouldn't we be going down to the park?" asked Jack.

"Of course, sweetie-pie. It's been fun; see you all later!"

By that time, Angemon had gone in and out of the visitor's center. He had little luck in tracking down Angewomon but he did manage to procure a guestroom. As he stood in his temporary living space he found himself completely blown away. It was nicer than any other place he had lived. The same ambient white light that was present throughout all other sections of the tower dominated the three-room apartment, and the walls were made of the same marble. The floor, however, was covered in plush tan carpeting and the walls were decorated with very ornate carvings that seemed to tell a story that Angemon was unfamiliar with. The furniture consisted of all the normal accoutrements one would expect to find in a small living space and seemed to be of very high quality. Several exceptions were the large prayer mat in the center of the main room and the lack of a television, which wasn't at all surprising considering their rarity in the Digital World and their being forbidden in the Ivory Tower. There was also no kitchen, and thus Angemon assumed there would be some manner of cafeteria nearby. And that was exactly where Angemon decided to head next. He would grab a quick bite and then turn in early after his long journey. Besides, the hunt for Angewomon and his research would be there waiting for him the next day.

****

Day 16

It was summertime and that of course meant that summer camps were open for business again. There was one very special camp, though. It was by no means an exception to the rule. It was unremarkable in its surroundings, with forests on all sides and mountains in the distance. The only thing that made it remarkable was its history. Ever since that fateful day fourteen years earlier, this camp had represented a weak-point in the border between the real and digital worlds. However, since the sealing that took place just after the battle with NightmareOmnimon, the gate had remained inactive.

There was one other thing that made this place remarkable, and that was one of the campers. He found himself waking up just as the sun peaked over the horizon. For some reason he had been asleep outside, leaning against one of the camp cabins. He was cold and his skin was wet with dew. His bushy, red-orange hair hung over his yellowish brown eight-year-old eyes. He wore a white, v-neck T-shirt with baggy, brown shorts and tennis shoes. The boy could have been just like any one of the other campers but for one quality. He had no memory.

Before the moment his eyes opened to that rising sun he could remember nothing. Only a dream that seemed to have lasted all his life. He had no name, no home, no parents, nothing. Before that moment, he didn't exist.

"Where…?" he wondered out loud, surprised at his own voice. The only thing he could remember were the swirling images of a dream that was already fading away. "…Am I?"

The only response he received was the early morning chatter of birds in their trees. Everyone else must have been fast asleep. Suddenly, the boy was overcome with a wave of emotion. He became terrified of discovery, as though he was trespassing and had to get away. There was also another sensation, much duller but more all-encompassing than the first. He felt it deep within himself, as though it had always been there. It was a great need to find someone or something. He had to find it, whatever it was. The only problem was that he had no idea who or what it was or where to begin looking.

And thus he ran, partly to escape and partly to seek. No one saw him go.

Back in Odaiba, the sun had poked out over the horizon, not that anyone could see it thanks to the skyline. The wall clock ticked away at its steady pace, marking each passing second until Yolei could see her Ken again. She was in her family's store, mopping one of the rear aisles while her brother worked the register. Yolei hated working these early morning shifts, but at least her dear sweet Ken could stop in after working all night. She casually adjusted the glasses on her nose and swept the hair that had come loose from her ponytail out of her face. Clad in a bright orange apron and with her sleeves rolled up, she knew she must look like quite a sight.

There came a sound from the front: the tinkling of a bell. It announced the front door had just been opened. A wave of cold air washed in and settled over every item in the store, chilling Yolei to the bone. She shuddered and pulled the sleeves of her green blouse down over her hands. The door shut again a few seconds later as indicated by a second call from the bell. Another moment of total silence passed before the sound of fast, sharp footfalls arose from the front of the store. Yolei was very tempted to abandon her duties for a moment just to see who this customer was that had just come in.

At the front, Yolei's brother perked up when he saw the customer walk right up to him and stop with an air of forcefulness that would make anyone pay attention.

"May I help you, sir?"

The customer, an imposing, dominating man with a serious expression regarded the young fellow for a moment, adjusting the leather glove on his left hand. "I believe you may," he said in his low, menacing voice. "I am looking for a Ms. Inoue. It is my understanding that she works in this…place. Is this accurate?"

"You mean Yolei? Yeah, she works here."

"Good…" the man said with a crooked smile, "very good. May I speak with Ms. Inoue?"

"Well, she's working right now. Unless you've got some kind of urgent business—"

"Oh but it is urgent, most urgent indeed. Now please…tell me where she is."

"What's the emergency? Maybe I can help you out, maybe I can't," Yolei's brother stated as he began to cop an attitude.

"I fear we are failing to understand one another," the man said, not losing his cool for a second. "I have asked you to show me to her, and now I am telling you. You _will_ direct me to the young lady I seek."

"Fine. She's in the far back aisle. Knock yourself out. Just don't steal anything."

Unmoved, the man turned on his heel and walked toward the back aisle with the same forceful determination he had shown earlier. Yolei, who had heard this exchange, quickly set about mopping again. The man appeared to her only a moment later.

"Ms. Inoue?" he asked.

Yolei looked the man up and down quickly. He was a strange one, wearing a crimson trench coat with brown, leather gloves, black dress shoes and a charcoal gray shirt with a brown and red striped necktie. He had silky, shoulder-length white hair that shrouded the right half of his face.

"Yes?" she asked.

The man regarded her for a few moments in silence. Yolei quickly started feeling uncomfortable.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry," the man finally said, "I was surprised is all. I was expecting something very different. In any case, I believe we have some business to discuss."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. It seems that a very good friend of yours has been sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it would be wise if this gentleman put an end to his efforts, but unfortunately I am unable to deliver the message in person. Would you be so kind as to do it for me?"

Yolei's mind began to race. What could this man be talking about? He definitely seemed to be serious, and he was clearly not the friendly type. He had to be some kind of criminal, but who did she know that would be involved with him? Could it be Cody? He was working as an intern at a law firm, but he wasn't important enough to really cause concern for anyone that might be prosecuted by them; he was basically a gofer.

"Well, Ms. Inoue? Do we have a deal?"

What about Tai? He was involved in politics, and that wasn't the cleanest of businesses. There's no telling how deep in it he might be.

"What exactly is it that you want me to say?" she asked.

Was it one of her brothers? She didn't think so. None of them seemed to be the type to be involved in someone like this. Then her mind hit the mark.

"Just tell this individual to back off. He'll know what you mean."

It was Ken. It just had to be Ken. Yolei somehow knew that it had to be him. He never should have joined the police force. Now he was being threatened by this fiend, and now Yolei was involved as well.

The man turned without another word and began to walk away. "Wait!" Yolei said quietly. The man stopped. "It's Ken, isn't it?"

"Ken? Oh yes. Mr. Ichijouji has been a thorn in our side for too long now," the man said. "But he is not the one of whom I speak." Yolei breathed a sigh of relief. "The one for whom the message is intended is Mr. Izumi. Be sure that he gets it."

"Who are you?"

"Amadeus."

And with that, the man strutted out of the store. Yolei was badly shaken and knew she couldn't work another minute until she spoke with someone, so she threw down her broom, grabbed her coat, and ran out without even taking off her apron.

"Jenomon! Down!" Guilmon ordered.

Jenomon hit the dirt hard and an energy blade passed over his head a moment later. It had been hours since Yolei had met that strange man and it was now mid-morning. A week and two villages after their encounter with the female Jenomon, the two digimon found themselves in an expansive field. It was there that an apparently savage pair of Snimon ambushed them.

"Thanks!" Jenomon called back.

"Just watch yourself!" Guilmon barked.

Guilmon turned swiftly and lobbed a Pyro Sphere at the nearest Snimon, who flew out of its path. The other Snimon slashed at Jenomon but the little mammal was able to leap over it. The latter Snimon then tried to ram Jenomon into the ground by thrusting his entire bulk forward onto his prey, but again the little digimon evaded him. Guilmon was nowhere near as nimble, but his relatively powerful attacks allowed him to hold his assailant at bay, if only for the moment.

"They're too tough!" Jenomon yelled after back flipping away from another Twin Sickle attack.

Guilmon was sweating and breathing heavily as he moved to evade what attacks he could. "Get in close!" Guilmon ordered as he rolled out of the way of one of Snimon's vicious claws. "They can't touch you if you're right on top of them!"

"Right! Rage Claw!" Jenomon charged. He focussed all the energy he could into his balled fist and dove in at the nearer Snimon's chest. He passed right in between his sickles and went straight on through to the monster's abdomen, which he struck with his mightiest blow. Unfortunately, it did little damage. Jenomon's attack wasn't over, though, for true to its name it unleashed his inner beast and he bared his claws and began to tear at the Snimon's thickly armored carapace.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon scored three direct hits to his opponent's head, stunning the enormous insect. He then turned on the other and began firing to distract him. "Jenomon! Get out of here now!"

"What?!" Jenomon never knew Guilmon to be one to turn from a fight. Something had to be very wrong.

"Go! We can't beat them!"

"No way!" He slugged Snimon in the gut with little effect.

"Don't argue!" They'll chase us if we both go! I'll stay here to make sure they don't come after you!"

"No way am I leaving you here alone!"

"Stop being stupid! I'll be fine! Worry about yourself right now!" He fired another round of Pyro Spheres. The Snimon quickly turned to counterattack, tossing Jenomon into the air in the process.

Jenomon yelped as he hit the ground and gripped his now hurt leg. "Guilmon!" he managed to cry out after a moment. "I'm not gonna leave you!"

"Get out of here!" Guilmon shouted just before a Twin Sickle collided with him and hurled him through the air.

By then, both Snimon were back in action and boiling over with anger. They started thrusting their claws furiously at Guilmon, who repeatedly managed to dodge them but he was starting to lose it. Jenomon began to run to his friend's aid, but then he and Guilmon locked eyes. In the midst of this it could only be for a moment, but it was a moment that Jenomon would not soon forget. In that instant, Guilmon urged Jenomon to escape while he could one last time, and he did it without a word. His eyes pleaded with Jenomon to go as far away as he could. Jenomon understood their meaning and, in spite of his own extreme reluctance, retreated.

Everything seemed to be going wrong. How could things have changed so much so quickly? As he ran he was awash with memories. It had only been half a month since they had met, but that had literally been Jenomon's entire life. Guilmon had been his rock, his hero, and the closest thing to an older brother Jenomon had ever had. Jenomon couldn't imagine life apart from him. He was always there to protect him, just as he was doing now.

It was only the night before that Guilmon had told Jenomon to return to File Island if anything ever happened. Jenomon didn't know it then—he thought it was just good old Guilmon trying to tell him what to do—but that too was a form of protection. Now he was running for his life while his dearest friend covered his escape.

Jenomon ducked behind a hill so that the Snimon could not spot him. The sounds of battle continued to ring out as Jenomon sat there, tears in his eyes, frenziedly pressing all the buttons on his digivice in some hope of making it activate. But the digivice did not work this time. There was no beeping and no glow.

He didn't know how long he sat, pressing those buttons. It could have been seconds or hours. All he knew was that by the time he stopped so had the battle. All was still. Even the wind had halted its steady march over the plains. He smelled the faint scent of fresh blood in the air, which brought on even more bitter tears. He allowed the damnable digivice that had failed him when he needed it most to drop. He hugged his legs to his chest and choked back the flood as long as he could. And then, he sat and wept.

But Guilmon was not dead. Though he had sustained vicious lacerations and the smell of blood surrounded him, he had managed to flee into some nearby tall grasses and burrowed into the ground. He had escaped beneath the Snimon's radar. He saw Jenomon from where he lay hidden from view. He nearly stood and called out to him, but at the last moment he changed his mind. Something that he figured out with the female Jenomon's help had been eating away at him for the past week. Guilmon knew what to do. He didn't know if it was the right thing or not, but he believed it was the best thing. "Jenomon," he whispered. "Do the smart thing this time. Go back to File Island. Be happy. Forget about me. Goodbye, my friend."

Guilmon skulked away amidst the tall grasses. His heart was saddened to leave his friend, and that sadness dripped from his closed eyes. They would never meet as friends again.


	9. Enter Mephismon

****

Day 18

The smell of sulfur and ash hung in the darkness. Only a few torches lined the stone halls of that ancient place. They burned with an unusually red light, devoid of any warmth. The demon digimon that now walked this passage had expected no less from his new employer, if indeed he was whom the messenger had claimed.

The demon, a beast in the form of a satyr with purple fur, two great horns, and a pair of black wings, reached the final doorway. A single Phantomon guarded it.

"Ah, I am pleased you have arrived, grandmaster. The high lord resides within."

"Enough platitudes," the demon said in a hostile, growling voice. "Open the door if you want to hold onto your miserable un-life."

The Phantomon said not a word but immediately obliged. The great doors swung open and the demon found himself walking into a large chamber with a domed roof, lava pits in the floor, and the sweet aroma of decay. The doors closed behind him.

"Why have you called me here?" he asked nonchalantly.

There was no response, but he could feel an immensely evil presence moving around him in the darkness, seemingly everywhere at once. It slithered all around him, just out of his range of sight.

"Well?" he asked, taking a few more steps into the room.

"Few are so arrogant," said that raspy, venomous voice, "as to speak to ME when they have not been addressed first."

"And why should I believe you are who you say you are?"

The creature laughed in the darkness. "Smart. You do not believe everything you're told, especially from mere lackeys. You truly do deserve your birthright, Mephismon."

"You're yet to offer me any proof," said the great satyr, Mephismon.

"Proof?" Something slithered in closer. "I'll give you proof…"

Something like a bony whip flew out of the darkness and lashed itself around Mephismon's wrist. Its razor-sharp edges tore into his flesh and made him choke with pain. It then hurled him through the air, deep into the chamber. Mephismon landed with a thud on the hard stone. As he began to push himself back up, he could sense the presence immediately before him, but all was still dark. He could feel its movements and hear its breathing. And then, two eyes appeared up in the air, unlike any Mephismon had seen before. They were like clouds of living energy, white at the center and growing darker into a red haze out from the core.

"Bathe in my presence, child. I am destruction incarnate, the taker of life and the unquestionable master of all demon digimon. My voice courses through your very soul. You knew since you came to this place that it was I who summoned you."

"Yes, I do believe I could tell. And though you may be my superior by both strength and birthright, I will not be talked down to. I've worked too hard for my position."

"Ah, yes. Your vaunted position as grandmaster…of a cadre of mercenaries, rogues and assassins. If you ever want to be taken seriously in this world you must reach far beyond those insignificant whelps. I am your only chance."

"Alright, Destroyer. What is it you offer?"

"Power. I will elevate you to the position of one of my highest generals, just as I did for one of your ancestors all those centuries ago. I shall also give you the means to complete your evolution and achieve your ideal level of strength. You may carve out your own realm in this world, and then other worlds as well."

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't appealing. But I'm no fool. What's my part of the bargain?"

"You will do what you love and what you're best at. You will kill. There are many targets still out there left over from your predecessors. In order to win my favor, you must slaughter the digimon throughout this world who were paired with _humans _before the gate was sealed. Kill them all, but leave two for me."

"Any specific two?"

"Yes, but I doubt you would try to attack them anyway. They are much stronger than you are, I'm afraid, and I doubt you would be foolish enough to make an attempt on either of them. If you did your death would be well deserved."

"But other than that it's open season?"

"Most definitely. Kill to your heart's content. And remember, I will be watching."

Far removed from that sinister meeting, Angemon continued his studies in the Ivory Tower. Although it had been more than a week since his arrival he had not encountered Angewomon and he worried about where she might be. But he did not spend all of his time looking for her. On the contrary, he spent most of his waking hours in the enormous library or sometimes in the class taught by Goldramon.

On this occasion he was in the library again. A table stood before him covered in piles upon piles of books. The volumes before him all made reference to _the Fifth Eye_ in one way or another. Oddly enough, though there were many of them, not one was written less than two hundred years earlier. The most recent texts were mostly works of fiction and made only a passing mention of the phrase, never explaining it. Apparently it had been a popular symbol centuries ago in literary circles, and usually signified something sinister from what Angemon could determine. His attempts at unearthing the origins of the phrase were showing little promise. What he really wanted was a much older book, ideally one from around the time Protomon made his prophecy, but unfortunately such texts were extraordinarily rare. The library held only a handful of books more than six hundred years old and Angemon had no idea if they made any mention of _the Fifth Eye_.

"I've been working much too hard," Angemon said to himself after closing another book without any answers for him. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. "Who'd have thought it would be so hard to solve such a simple riddle?"

Angemon then heard someone approach from behind him. "Busy day?"

Angemon turned his head and saw a digimon he was unfamiliar with. "It sure is."

The digimon was similar to many angel digimon. His helmet, golden blonde hair, and pale face were like those of any Angemon. He had four white wings neatly folded behind him and he wore a simple green tunic over his lightly armored frame. His armor was all thin steel, but it was spaced out to make it very flexible. Simple leather gauntlets with plates to cover the backs of his hands guarded both of his fists. In his right hand he carried a tall wooden staff.

"Doing important research?"

"I sure hope so. What are you doing here?"

"I take care of the plants. I felt like stopping to chat with someone."

"Well pull up a chair."

"Don't mind if I do." The digimon sat down across from Angemon.

"Well I guess I'll start. I'm Angemon. And you are?"

"No name? Must be an outsider."

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"I see. But please, forgive my rudeness. I am known as Kuzamon."

"You don't have a name either, I take it."

"No point when you're the only one of your kind."

"The only one? And what 'kind' are you?"

"Well, I am a simple Champion digimon, an angel type like all others here. As I mentioned, I take care of the plants."

"I'll bet that's fulfilling work."

"It keeps me busy. But what about you? What's your story, outsider?"

"Well, do you want the short version or the long?"

"Definitely the long. I'm something of an explorer, you see. And I find there's no better way to explore the world than through someone else's eyes."

"Okay then, Kuzamon. First of all, I'm here doing some things for Omnimon. He and I are old friends from way back and now he needs my help. I'm here to learn about something called _the Fifth Eye_ and to meet with Lucemon."

"A friend of Omnimon, you say?"

"Oh yeah. I hatched with the two digimon that joined to create him. We were all close friends, and once we met our human partners we only got closer. I don't know if you've heard of us, but we were the DigiDestined, sworn protectors of this world."

"Yes, we have heard a great deal about you brave warriors from the east."

"Great, then I won't have to explain. Anyway, after what seemed like an eternity of constantly fighting for our lives, it all came to an end ten years ago. The evil computer virus was destroyed. Omnimon had risen to become this world's protector. Life was finally peaceful. It's funny; in those troubled times we were all so close, but now I don't even know where most of my old friends are or how they're doing. To be honest I came up here more to see Gatomon than to help out Omnimon."

"Gatomon?"

"She was one of us and my closest friend other than my human partner, TK. I guess she'd have to be an Angewomon now if she really does live in this tower."

"Fascinating. It is hard to believe one with such a distinguished past could walk about in this or any other place with so little notice."

"I actually prefer it. I only wish I knew where Gatomon was. I hope she's alright."

"Oh she's just fine. If she's on schedule she should be back in a few hours."

Angemon jumped to attention…literally. He knocked his chair over when he stood up so suddenly. "What?!"

"I know of whom you speak. She is a good friend of mine and she told me a great deal about you. You know, I pictured you as being taller."

"Wha…but…how…? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because then I couldn't have seen this expression of yours." Kuzamon let out a pleased laugh.

"So Gatomon is coming here?"

"She's been Angewomon as long as I've known her, but yes. I met her just as I met you, seeking to learn about the outside through her eyes. We've been friends since shortly after she arrived. She's been away nearly a month now and she said she would return today after a quick visit to another of your old friends, a Palmon I believe, out in one of those beautiful forest communities."

"Palmon? Palmon is up here as well?"

"I understand she runs a flower shop. I made Angewomon promise to bring me some of her beautiful blue roses."

"I've got to go to them!"

"Calm down, Angemon. How long has it been since you arrived in the tower?"

"Nine days."

"Then I imagine you can wait a few more hours."

"But I—"

"Sit. Learn to take your time and smell the roses, Angemon. If you're always rushing off to the next thing you'll never be able to enjoy the moment. Besides, I believe you still owe me the rest of your story. The long version."

Angemon sighed. He knew he was beaten, so he picked up his chair, sat down, and began to tell his life's story in great detail.

In spite of Guilmon's advice to return to File Island, Jenomon had pressed on. But things hadn't been the same since he'd lost his friend. For the first time, life seemed bittersweet. Jenomon was unaccustomed to sadness; it was a heavy weight on his heart.

He was walking west through a shady valley. It was a lush, green place between two parallel mountain ranges. A river ran through the center and Jenomon often followed alongside it. He walked with a slight limp now, having twisted a muscle in his left leg during the fight with the Snimon. It served as a constant reminder of his great loss, not that he needed it.

When the sun was at its highest overhead he sat down in a shady spot by the side of the river to rest his leg and get a drink of water. He allowed his tail to drag in the river in hopes that a fish might grow curious about it and he'd have fresh meat for lunch. Unfortunately, pickings looked like they would be slim. As sat, his mind began to wander back to the same place it had been going for two days.

"Guilmon…" he said in a nearly dreaming state. "Why?"

Jenomon leaned back on the grass and felt his eyes begin to close. He rarely slept as of late, partly because he feared being attacked as he dozed, but mostly because of the unsettling dreams he had been having. He had been to that dark place with the red light and the skeletal tentacles several times already, and he was not eager to go back. Still, he had to sleep eventually, and this seemed like it was it. Or so he thought.

He awoke with a start, or perhaps he had never even fallen asleep. In any case, his eyes opened to find an odd digimon hovering over him, reaching for the digivice he held in his hand. The two of them simply stared at one another, frozen in time.

"Get back!" Jenomon finally cried out, pushing himself away.

The other digimon also sprung back, although much more skillfully. His body was essentially a head/torso combination with two arms and two legs coming off of it. He wore a brown mask and carried a sheathed short blade on his back. His large red eyes and serious expression did little to cast doubt on Jenomon's first impression of him.

"Who are you?" Jenomon demanded, now on his feet and holding his digivice close.

"I am Ninjamon and that's all you need to know," the digimon said in a hostile, yet immature-sounding voice.

Before Jenomon could respond, Ninjamon charged at him, his sword drawn. Jenomon turned and stepped out of Ninjamon's way as quickly as he could. However he was still hampered by his leg and cut it a little more closely than he had intended. He escaped harm by less than an inch.

"What do you want from me?"

Ninjamon turned and slashed again, but Jenomon dodged.

"Your device! Hand it over now or die!" He chopped but was evaded for the third time.

"No way!" Jenomon struck back with a punch, but Ninjamon deflected it with his weapon.

"Have it your way!" Ninjamon gripped his sword with both hands and began to slash wildly.

Jenomon tried to dodge, but with his hurt leg he could only do so much. Pretty soon he had to try deflecting the blows with his forearms and received many nicks and cuts in the process.

"Surrender!" Ninjamon shouted.

"Never!" was Jenomon's reply.

Ninjamon thrust his sword at Jenomon's chest, but Jenomon twisted out of the way and sent his fist right for Ninjamon's nose. The blow landed hard, knocking Ninjamon over and sending two streams of blood down the sinister digimon's face. Jenomon turned as fast as he could and tried to make a break for it. Once again his leg slowed him down, though, and Ninjamon was back on his feet in no time. He wiped the blood from off his mouth and turned to Jenomon with an angry sneer.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ninjamon plucked a throwing star from his body and took careful aim. Jenomon never saw it coming. The blade sliced through the air, making a loud whistle as it went. It hit its target precisely. Jenomon cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"That'll teach you," said Ninjamon.

Ninjamon casually walked over to where Jenomon had fallen. The star was still stuck there, right in Jenomon's left hip where Ninjamon had intended. Blood was flowing freely from the wound. Jenomon lay facedown, his eyes shut tight and his teeth clamped down in agony. His digivice lay a yard in front of him. That was Ninjamon's target, and it was that which he went to retrieve.

"You know," Ninjamon said as he cleaned off the digivice, "that was awfully easy. I can't believe how much time I wasted in hunting you."

"Wh…why…?" Jenomon managed to choke out.

"Because I was expecting a tougher—oh, duh. You want to know why I'm after you. It was orders, nothing more. See ya later…if that flesh wound doesn't get infected and kill you. Ha!"

Ninjamon leaped toward the trees, but before he even touched the first branch something came out of nowhere and went right through him. By the time he landed the digivice was gone and he had been sliced in two. Jenomon was so shocked by the sudden change that he almost completely forgot about the pain. Ninjamon's body disintegrated, but his data did not disappear. Instead it was pulled back to something behind Jenomon, something he was unable to look back at.

"You should _really_ be embarrassed after losing to such a weakling," said a tough, female voice.

"Huh?" asked Jenomon.

"It was barely worth absorbing his data. Oh by the way, I believe this is yours," the digivice dropped in front of his face, "Nari."

"Jenomon?" He tried to turn to look up at his savior, but he only caught a glimpse before the pain overcame him. He was definitely certain that it was not Jenomon, though.

"I was when last we met. I've done some evolving since then," she said calmly as she moved around to where he could see her.

The digimon over him was very large and walked on all fours. She was very muscular but clearly built more for speed than strength. Her underbelly was covered in white fur while most of her body was covered in orange. Finally, she had a mane of red hair running from just over her brow to the middle of her back, and there was more red hair in a tuft at the end of her long tail. She had three toes on each foot, all of which were covered in white fur and had a long, black claw. Her face was wolfish with white fur on the lower parts and orange fur on her heavy brow and over the top of her muzzle. Her eyes were bright yellow, just as they had been before. The only thing about her that was not of her own body were three golden rings placed next to each other at the end of her tail.

"I should've known it was you," said Jenomon.

"Miss me?" she asked, her tail swishing back and forth subconsciously.

"Of course not!" said Jenomon. "Hey, just what are you doing here? Are you following me or something."

"What? You're the one who's been right behind me all day long. I could smell you a mile up the road."

"It couldn't have been tough with that giant snout of yours."

"Actually it was your own personal stink, which is pretty amazing considering I was upwind of you."

"Yeah? Well you're—ouch—upwind of my foot."

"Ooh. Clever."

"And by the way, I know what 'Nari' means. Guilmon told me."

"I think it's pretty apt considering how quickly you lost."

"You know, YOU'RE a girl."

"No way. I'm a lady, and more importantly I'm a warrior."

"So what am I—OW—supposed to call you now, o great warrior?"

"Great warrior? I like that. It certainly suits me better than it does you. But I suppose Setomon should do just fine."

"Setomon, huh? Do you suppose I'll—AH—end up in that form too?"

"You? At this rate you'll be lucky to live long enough to run back home to mommy. No way you'll ever make it to my level."

"Hey, I'm doing just—YEOW—fine for myself."

"I can certainly tell."

"Alright, alright, so I—agh—got a little stabbed. What's it to you?"

"Aw, poor baby," Setomon cooed, ignoring Jenomon's question. "Is that widdle ol' butter knife hurting you?"

"It's…it's fine."

"Yeah right, baby."

"I'm NOT a baby!"

"Oh good. I guess I can just leave then."

"You just can't make this easy."

"No. I really can't."

"Fine. Just pull it out or something."

"You sure? That's really gonna bleed."

"Well I don't want to get it worked in there any deeper."

"And you're clearly such an expert on medical care."

"Do you expect me to walk around with this thing in my leg?"

"No way. You're not going to be able to walk for at least a week."

"Terrific. Any suggestions, then?"

"Well, I hear there's a healer not too far from here. I bet you can cut that time in half if you can get there."

"Am I the only one here who sees a minor problem with this plan?"

"Hey, I'm just passing through…unless of course you need help or something."

"No way!" said Jenomon. "I can handle this—urgh—on my own!" Jenomon tried to push himself up onto his feet but the second he moved his left hip he fell again and tears began to spill from his eyes. "Ow! Yama hama!"

"Say it."

"Why couldn't I have been saved by a rabid Monochromon or something?"

"Say it or I'm leaving."

"Why did it have to be you?"

"Okay. I'm leaving now…"

"Alright! All right already…" he said in a defeated tone. "You win. I need your help."

"Now wasn't that easy?"

"So how are you going to get me there?" he asked in between sobs.

"Let me deal with that. You just try to stop looking so pathetic."

"You're trying my patience, Setomon!" he said as his body was overwhelmed by another surge of pain from his hip.

"Okay, here we go…!"

"Wait! What are you—?"

Before Jenomon could get out another word he found himself hoisted up by the loose skin at the back of his neck. That of course sent another wave of agony up his leg, but he was starting to expect that.

"Are you nuts?!" He reached down and gripped his leg with his paws.

"Relax," she said through gritted teeth, "this is the best way to do this."

"You're carrying me in your MOUTH?"

"Believe me, it's no picnic for me either. Blech! Have you _ever_ had a bath?"

"Oh I imagine this looks _really_ dignified."

"Don't worry. I don't think you could get any more pathetic. But then I could be wrong…"

They both looked at their reflection in the water. Jenomon looked like a lion cub being carried somewhere safe by his mother. He grew increasingly annoyed by Setomon's laughing through her closed mouth.

"This is so embarrassing." He folded his arms in front of his chest and put on a pouting expression.

"I think it's cute."

"This is NOT cute."

"Sounds like a certain little baby is getting cranky."

"Shut up."

"What's that? You'd rather walk?"

Jenomon remained silent.

"Better."

"And I'm not a baby," Jenomon said under his breath.

"You know, we could always have Guilmon carry you if you want. At the very least I wouldn't be coughing up hairballs for a month. Where is he by the way?"

Jenomon's expression suddenly changed and Setomon knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's…Guilmon."

"What about Guilmon?"

"Guilmon is…Guilmon is gone."

"He's gone? Where?"

"Just…gone."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry, Jenomon."

"It's alright. You didn't know."

"So how did it…" she began asking before she thought better of it. For now it just wasn't important. "Sorry."

Jenomon didn't say a word. He just stared at the ground. Setomon closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Guilmon.

For the first time since they'd met one another, they were both quiet. After a long moment, Setomon began to walk forward along the river toward the healer's home. It would be a trying day.

But even as Jenomon was carried off, a battle was ready to take place far away. There were two opponents, neither of which had even seen one another yet. They had caught each other's scent on the winds. Both were eager to encounter a strong enemy, and thus it seemed to be fate that had brought them closer and closer. The place they would have for their battle was in the middle of a great wasteland. No geological features could be seen on the horizon; the soil was reddish brown and very dry so that its entire surface was marred by cracks. In the middle of all this was a deep canyon, the result of an ancient earthquake, filled with sharp rocks and worn away by the wind. It was this place where Mephismon believed he had found his first victim.

The sun scorched the red earth underfoot. Waves of heat could be seen rising up in every direction, and there was absolutely no wind to bring relief. The only sound came from Mephismon's heavy footsteps on the rough, dry soil. Stopping at the canyon's edge, he sniffed the air and began to listen carefully. An evil smirk crossed his face.

"I know you're here," he said in a voice that boomed across the expanse and throughout the canyon. "Show yourself."

Mephismon's words were met only by the whistling wind as it coursed through the chasm. His opponent was good, very good. But Mephismon knew he was better. He took a step back as if to turn around; still nothing. This digimon was a master of the ambush. Mephismon shifted his weight and started to turn. That's when his rival shot up over the canyon wall and struck out with the speed and force of a bolt of lightning. Mephismon was ready though. He'd brought up his arm to block the fantastic punch just in time. The two of them looked one another over for a moment. That was the first time they had seen one another. On one hand there was Mephismon, of course; one of the oldest and most vicious types of demon digimon, sadistic and corrupt to the core, a true monster. And on the opposite end of the fight was the graceless but undeniably powerful Cyberdramon.

Both fighters backed away from each other. There was no need for words. Both of them understood why they were there and what they fought for.

Cyberdramon made the first move, coming in fast with a punch. Mephismon backed out of the way and brought his knee up into Cyberdamon's chest in the process. Cyberdramon was stunned just long enough for Mephismon to give him a hearty head-butt. The clashing of Mephismon's horns against Cyberdramon's thick metal mask created a loud ringing noise and left both opponents sore. Cyberdramon fell back and decided on an attack suitable for a longer distance.

"Deletion Claw!" he shouted.

Cyberdramon swung both claws forward and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of blue blasts. Mephismon was no fool, so he bounded to the side an instant before Cyberdramon's attack shredded the ground where he had stood. Mephismon then leapt high into the air as Cyberdramon tried to follow him with his attacks but Mephismon's movements were simply too fast. It was all he could do to jump back out of the way before Mephismon landed right on top of him. Mephismon hit the ground hard, driving his knee deep into the red earth, turning it into dust beneath him. He immediately shot back to his feet and came at Cyberdramon with a punch. Cyberdramon caught Mephismon's punch and held it. Both fighters stood, locked in that position, pressing against one another with all their might. The ground started to give away beneath them, but still they pressed on, evenly matched it seemed.

"You're pretty tough," Mephismon said as he visibly struggled, sweat running down his brow, his muscles bulging, focussing all his energy into that one arm.

Cyberdramon gripped his working arm with his free hand, reinforcing his strength. "You won't win here…"

They both began to push even harder, surpassing their breaking points and still going. They had to constantly shift their footing to keep the ground below them from turning to dust.

"You can't hold out forever!" said Mephismon.

"Neither can you!"

Their expressions grew more and more intense as they put more and more stress on their bodies. They could hear one another's bones creaking, hear their own tendons stretching to where they were ready to snap. That was when Cyberdramon made his move. He dug into Mephismon's hand with his claw and yanked him closer, throwing Mephismon completely off balance. He then reached out before Mephismon could recover and clawed his face. Mephismon recoiled with pain and kicked Cyberdramon away.

"Clever boy…" said Mephismon, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his face and hand.

Cyberdramon just stood there with blood dripping from his claws and a strange little grin on his face.

"I'll teach you to mess with a grandmaster of the deadly arts," Mephismon said with a snarl. "Death Cloud!"

Mephismon leapt into the air and right over Cyberdramon's head. By the time Cyberdramon turned to look he had already moved somewhere else. Soon Cyberdramon was looking two or three moves behind his circling enemy.

"No games!" said Cyberdramon.

"Oh this is no game…" said a voice that came from every direction at once.

Then, a purple mist began to rise up on all sides of Cyberdramon, drawn into a whirlwind by Mephismon's circling. Before Cyberdramon knew what was happening it had him entirely surrounded; it had become a raging miasmic maelstrom. As the cloud drew closer, Cyberdramon began to feel its deadly effects. The gas burned his lungs and drained his strength. He knew right away that some terrible poison had entered his system, but even worse were its visible effects. The noxious fluid quickly began to corrode his very body. His metallic aspects started to melt and bubble. His biological parts started to show signs of increasingly severe burns.

"Oh I just love this part…" said Mephismon. "I can't wait until you get the full dose and your entire body fails you all at once."

Cyberdramon, never the type to go down easily, mustered his remaining strength. He knew he'd only have one shot at this, but years upon years of training led him to believe he could pull it off.

"Deletion Claw!"

He went all out with another barrage fired directly into the cloud at the very point where he had been predicting Mephismon would land at just that moment. The gas parted before Cyberdamon's blasts just in time to reveal the shocked expression on Mephismon's face. The attacks struck their mark and hit Mephismon with such a force that he was thrown back over fifty feet and took his Death Cloud with him. With Mephismon having halted his movements, the mist quickly dissipated in the open air. The two opponents were left standing there once again, although Mephismon was now left with three large open wounds on his chest where the Deletion Claw had hit.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Although the melting and blistering had come to a stop, steam still poured from Cyberdramon's body. Mephismon had likewise been left with grievous but recoverable wounds. Once again they were at a standoff.

"Unacceptable," said Mephismon.

"Finally, a worthy opponent…" Cyberdramon growled.

They both charged. Mephismon kneed Cyberdramon in the gut but Cyberdramon responded with a spiked elbow to the back. They landed again.

"No rank amateur will ever challenge me again…" Mephismon said in a threatening voice.

Cyberdramon came at him again with more vicious slashes from his claws. Mephismon deflected them and gave Cyberdramon a punch to the face. They continued like that for some time. They clawed at one another for hours. By the end they were completely spent of their energy and both had lost great amounts of blood, which now stained the dry earth. They both knew that they were not strong enough to continue, and certainly lacked the energy to finish off one another. And so, unceremoniously and without a single word, they turned from one another and walked off in separate directions. They knew they would have to meet again, and until then they would have to get stronger for any chance at victory.


	10. Angewomon's Grand Entrance

 "Where could she be?" asked Angemon.

By that time, Angemon had been waiting at the front gate with Kuzamon for nearly an hour.  Kuzamon was strangely quiet, apparently still absorbing all that Angemon had told him of his life.  Angemon had a noticeably more agitated than normal look about him as he paced back and forth along the white marble, frequently glancing skyward for any sign of Angewomon.

"Relax," said Kuzamon, who sat on the ground in a lotus position.  "She'll get here when she gets here.  Come.  Sit and enjoy the warmth of the sun with me."

"No thanks," said Angemon, continuing to pace.

"Suit yourself."

Just as before, there were many other digimon wandering about just outside the Ivory Tower.  The difference now was that the sun sank low on the horizon and the sky had gone from being clear and blue to a warm orange.  All this, however, served only to remind Angemon of how late his old friend was in arriving.

"I don't get it!" Angemon said finally.  "She was supposed to be here nearly two hours ago!  What could have happened?"

"Don't worry, friend.  I believe she merely stayed longer than she intended with Palmon.  She'll come soon."

Angemon continued to pace nervously without another word.

"But she'll be here tonight, right?"

"Probably."

More pacing followed.

"Probably?"

"She may have decided to stay on another night."

"But couldn't she have sent a messenger to tell you she'd be late?"

"She's free to come and go.  It doesn't matter to me if she's not back when she said she would be."

"Well it matters to me!"

"But as far as she knows, you're not even here."

Angemon was silent again, and though he wasn't pacing he did start to practice swinging his staff around, trying to discover if Goldramon's classes had been of any help.  Another couple of minutes passed like this before Kuzamon stood up and began to stretch his tired muscles.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already," said Angemon, swinging his staff over his head, careful not to hit anyone.

"No, Angemon.  I only stand because she's here."

"Huh?"

"Look."  He pointed skyward.

Angemon observed the place where he had motioned for a moment and then finally saw her.  It was Angewomon without a doubt, coming from the east where the sky was darkest.  Angemon could hardly recall such a stunning sight as the one that appeared before him then, gliding in on shining wings with a glowing aura about her.

"Angewomon…" he muttered to himself.

She came in fast—swooping in almost close enough to reach out and touch—before she pulled back and brought her descent to a halt.  With only a couple more beats of her wings she made the final, gentle landing on the smooth marble.  She was there.  She was actually there.  She was as beautiful and mysterious as ever.  In her arms she carried a bushel of blue roses, just as promised.  She looked around for a moment before spying Kuzamon and then hurried over to give him a one-armed hug and hand him the flowers he had requested.

"It's nice to see you back, Angewomon," said Kuzamon.  "I take it your trip went well?"

"Very well.  There's so much beauty out there; it was hard to leave it."

"And Palmon?  How is she?"

"As nice as ever.  She told me that she grew these roses especially for you.  Some of the finest she's ever had."

"I agree with that.  They should thrive in Lucemon's chambers."

"How is Lucemon, by the way?"

"He remains, as always, our distant but benevolent lord."

"Stubborn if you ask me," said Angewomon.  They both laughed.

"And what of the message?"

"Delivered, but the response was different than I expected."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  Antylamon seemed like she would rather he not visit right now.  She accepted his coming easily enough, but I don't know…"

"Perhaps she is merely very busy at the moment.  I'm sure she will be in better spirits by the time MarineAngemon is able to pay her his promised visit."

All this time, Angemon had remained silent, unnoticed.  It was just so strange for him, seeing her after all these years and in this form.

"Should we be going then?" asked Angewomon.

"If you so desire."

Angewomon began to walk toward the tower and Kuzamon looked like he was ready to follow when Angemon finally called out, "wait!"  Both Kuzamon and Angewomon turned to Angemon, Angewomon having the more surprised look.  But then a moment passed and her expression grew soft and friendly.

"Angemon!" she said joyously.  "It's you!"  She took him in a warm embrace.  "I can't believe it's really you!  You're really here, and after all these years!"

Angemon, still in that tight embrace, simply blushed and looked over at Kuzamon, who seemed to derive a great deal of amusement from the scene.

Angewomon finally released Angemon with a refreshed sigh.  "Well what are you doing here?  I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm…here on a mission from Omnimon."

"Really?  How is the old bucket of bolts?"

"He's holding up.  Being the protector of all things under the sun seems to agree with him."

"Angemon, have you met Kuzamon here?"

"Yes, we talked at great, GREAT length."

Angewomon laughed.  "He asked you for your life story, didn't he?  He does that to everyone.  And here I bet he didn't even tell you a thing about himself."

Angemon thought about it for a second.  "You know, come to think of it, he didn't."

"Kuzamon!"

"Sorry Angewomon.  You know how I tire from hearing others' tales.  It's difficult to share my own after all that."

"Nice try, Kuzamon.  Angemon, you've actually met him before, just after the battle with MaloMyotismon."

"Huh?  I did?"

"Yes.  We both did.  He was that little Brussels sprout, Datirimon."

"Mr. Oikawa's partner?"

"Did I forget to mention that?" Kuzamon asked with a big grin.

"You forgot to mention it to me too," said Angewomon.  She then turned to Angemon and whispered, "I only found out when I overheard some people talking about him in the library."

"Well you never asked," said Kuzamon.

"And I get the feeling there's a lot more he's still not telling me."

Kuzamon just smiled.

"So what is this mission of yours?" asked Angewomon.

"It might be best to discuss this inside," said Angemon.

"Of course.  Coming, Kuzamon?"

"I'll be along.  Just let me enjoy the sun a little longer."

"Alright."

A world away in a crowded subway station, a boy with red-brown hair and rusty yellow eyes withdrew from the flow of traffic.  He tried to hide in the shadows, leaning up against the wall out of sight.  Dozens of people walked by, creating the low murmur that was life in such a place.  The sound was very disturbing, seeming to drive itself into the boy's mind, piercing his thoughts, making it impossible to think or concentrate.  Where was he?  What was he doing there?  He was drawing a blank.  As the minutes passed by it became clear to him that he had undergone another memory lapse.  He could remember leaving the campground two days earlier, running out of the woods and onto the highway, even the long walk down the road.  But between then and now he drew a blank.  The memories were like a dream, just out of reach and fading fast.

"Where am I?" he wondered out loud, still mildly surprised at the sound of his own voice.  It seemed weak and frail.

A train pulled up and the people began to pile on in vast numbers.  It left a short time later, leaving the station largely abandoned.  A few people remained; so few that the boy felt brave enough to venture out onto the platform.  He cautiously walked to the platform's edge and looked down on the tracks and then down the tunnel in either direction.  He was relieved to find no one else there seemed to pay him much attention.

Uncertain of what to do he turned away and looked for an exit that would hopefully take him back up to the surface.  Maybe something back up on the street would jog his memory, or at least indicate why he had come down there in the first place.

He resolved to go up onto the street, but before he had gone very far he sensed something very near, something very unsettling.  It was not a smell, or a sound, or anything else one could normally sense.  It was more like an emotion, hovering in the air.  The boy stopped, dominated by a sudden feeling of fear, sorrow, and anger.  He shakily turned his head to the left where he saw one of the many large, cement support pillars in the station.  And then a figure appeared from behind the pillar; a figure with white hair wearing a blood-red trench coat.

"Wh-who are you?" the boy stammered.

The figure, a very tall man with his face hidden by shadow, merely smiled and brought a cigarette up to his lips with his gloved hand.  The boy of course backed away in fear.  Whatever this powerful feeling was, it sprouted from that man.

"What's the matter?" the man asked in a calm, yet sinister voice.  "Do I…frighten you?"

The boy stared at the man, looking deep into his red eyes.  And then he could see much more.  It was for only a moment, but the boy saw that man's aura.  It was like a red-black cloud swirling about the man, spreading from his body, ready to reach out and devour anybody it could reach.  The experience sent a chill up the boy's tiny spine.

"Stay back," the boy ordered.

The man smiled wider.  "You think I don't know you."

The boy took a few steps back.

"…And here you don't even know yourself."

"I'm warning you…"

"You are warning me?"  He laughed.  "What a lark."

"We…we're not alone.  Go away or I'll yell for help!"

"Ha!  Not alone?  Of course we are alone.  These others here are meaningless falsehoods next to you and I."

"What are you talking about?"

"You dream, don't you?  What kind of dreams are they?  Do you dream of a terrible demon coming to gobble you up?"

"No…"

"Perhaps you dream of a fantastic world of monsters."

"No!"

"I have the very same dreams as you.  Only I understand and embrace them.  Someday you too will understand.  When that day comes, I will be watching.  When you're ready, seek me out.  The name is Amadeus."

"Why won't you just leave me alone?"

"Me?  Leave you?  You have things confused.  It is you who is drawn to me.  I anxiously await your coming."

"Stop it!"

"Poor little child.  You don't understand.  At this rate you never will."

"I told you to stop it!"

"What's the matter?  Does your head hurt?  Is your entire life a blank?  Do you even know if you have a family?  Friends?  A home?"

"Leave me alone!  Go away!"

The boy took off running.  Amadeus stood there, a cruel little smile on his face.  The child's mind was very weak and susceptible.  It was almost too easy.

Jenomon slowly awoke in an unfamiliar place.  His eyes fluttered open but immediately shut again to keep the sun out.  After a brief time he opened them again, although much more carefully.  Now able to look around himself, he realized he lay inside a wooden hut of some kind.  Not elaborate by any means, but certainly sufficient for his needs.  He lay on a small bed on the ground.  There was a tiny square window to his left and an open door to his right.  All manner of trinkets, herbs, roots and flasks hung from the ceiling in bushels.  He saw large burlap sacks full of items he could only guess at stacked on the floor around the tiny room's perimeter.  The floor was a dirt one, hard and compacted and long-since absent of any plant-life.  Jenomon tried to sit up but was immediately reminded of how he had come to be carried off in Setomon's jaws.  There was a searing pain in his left leg, but when he reached down to hold it he realized that the throwing star had been removed and the wound was cleaned and dressed.

"This must be that healer's place that Setomon spoke of," he said to himself.  He took a closer look at his injury, moving it just slightly.  "Wow.  This healer did a pretty good job."

"Thank you."

Jenomon looked over to the door where the unfamiliar voice had come from.  Standing there was a wizened old female digimon whose gray hair, despite being pulled up in a bun, still managed to cover her eyes.  She carried a broom and wore an apron.  In her right hand she held a ceramic bowl.

"I am Babamon, the healer," she said, casually walking over to Jenomon and sitting down beside him.  "And you, young mon, are laying on my bed."

"Huh?"

"I'm the best healer around, mostly because I don't like it when other people take my bed.  You'll be back on your feet in no time because I won't get a decent night's sleep until you are."

"Babamon, huh?"

"Not too swift, I guess.  Oh well, as long as you don't shed all over everything."

"I don't understand…"

"Normally I don't take in mammal digimon.  Most of 'em end up covering all my stuff in their fur if they're the shedding type.  I'm allergic to the stuff somethin' awful and it's almost easier to move than to clean it all up."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just shut up and drink this, sonny."

She shoved the ceramic bowl she carried into Jenomon's mouth, leaving him very little choice but to drink down the foul, boiling liquid it carried.

"Bleah!" Jenomon exclaimed after the bowl was taken away.  He sputtered for a moment and wiped the remaining swill from his mouth.  "What was THAT, some kind of wacky medicine?!"

"Dinner.   What do you think; too much vinegar?"

Jenomon was ready to retch at the thought of that being an actual meal.  He had just been given a very good reason to recover as soon as possible.

"Seconds?"

"How did I get here?" he asked, hoping to quickly distract her.

"That nice young lady brought you in.  You were out cold at the time, sleeping like a baby even as she carried you in her mouth."

Now someone else was comparing him to a baby.  This was getting infuriating.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Oh she shot out of here as soon as I told her you'd be okay.  I swear, you couldn't keep that girl here with a steel cage."

"That sounds like her, alright."

"I smell some history between you two.  Out with it, kiddo."

"What?  There's nothing to tell.  This is only the second time she and I have met.  We haven't spent more than six hours together total."

"Oh really?  I'd think you two have been together for years."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"I barely know her, okay?  She's just shown up a couple times to make my day harder than it has to be."

"Has she?"

"Yeah!  She thinks she's so high and mighty, always picking on me, calling me a baby.  Even before I ever saw her face she was laughing at me!"

"How did you meet?"

"I was looking around for something to eat.  I wasn't finding much when she popped out and tossed me a meat apple.  She was still a Jenomon like me then."

"Uh-huh."

Anyway, to make a long story short, me and her and my old friend all sat down to share the apples.  Of course _I_ had to be the one to get more when we ran out."

"I see."

"And then she took off, leaving us nothing but some rough directions to the next town."

"And your second meeting?"

"This morning.  She saved me from this Ninjamon who—holy crap!"

"What?"

"My digivice!  Where is it?!  Don't tell me I lost it!"

"That little electronic gizmo?  Don't worry, it's safe.  I put it over there with the potatoes."  She pointed and Jenomon looked.  He saw his digivice sitting atop one of the burlap sacks in perfect condition, or at least as good as it could get considering all the punishment of a life in the wild.  "Now please, go on."

"Okay, I guess.  So she saved me, but not until after he'd already stabbed me and of course she had to make more of her oh-so-hilarious jokes at my expense in the process.  She picked me up and dragged me over here.  See?  Nothing."

Babamon was clearly very entertained by the story, judging by her quiet laughter.  "Tell me, do you try to make fun of her too?"

"Well of course!  I do have my pride, after all."

"Of course.  You been successful yet?"

"Uh, well, I…I've had some good ones?"

"But she still wins every time?"

"Uh…yeah."

Babamon laughed again, but slightly louder.

"Something funny?"

"No, no.  Dear me no.  I was just thinking about something that wouldn't interest you."

"Tell me anyway."

"I probably shouldn't."

"Do it anyway."

"No.  Now then, how would you like some more dinner?"

Jenomon quickly feigned sleep.

"Cute kid."  The old Babamon stood again and left so that Jenomon could rest.

Day 20 

The clock on the wall read 1:52 AM as its owner walked into his bedroom.  His light brown hair was ruffled and he had the look of a man who hadn't slept well lately.  His movements were quick and decisive, though, as he grabbed an old duffel bag from under his bed and began to pack as many clothes and other essentials into it as he could.

There was a quiet knock at the door.  "Come in," he said without stopping or even slowing his packing.  The door creaked open and in stepped a young man six years his junior.  He had short, jet black hair and wore a concerned expression, as well as an old, worn-out bathrobe.  "Yeah?"

The younger man wasn't sure if the elder was angry or not, but he certainly seemed quiet.  "Are you okay?  I heard you fighting with dad."

"I'm fine."

"Then why are you packing all your stuff, bro?"

"I'm moving out.  I should have done it years ago when I first had the chance."

"But I thought you didn't have the money to—"

"I was wrong."

"I don't get it.  What's going on?"

The elder sighed and stopped packing his things.  After a moment he looked at his younger brother with those oceanic eyes of his.  "C'mere…"  He sat down on his bed.  The younger hesitated for a moment and then joined his brother on his bed.  "I don't want you to get the wrong idea about this.  I'm going away, but it'll just be for a little while.  I promise."

"You always say that."

"And I always come back."

"But what makes this time so different?"

"Dad…he doesn't want me to go.  It's complicated, you wouldn't understand."

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Ryo.  I'll understand."

Ryo sighed again and thought for a moment.  "Okay, Shou.  I'm…I'm going to see mom."

"Mom?!  Jeez.  No wonder dad was so mad."

"He can get mad all he wants.  He can't control me anymore."

"He can as long as you live here."

Ryo was silent.  Then, Shou understood.

"You're planning on staying there…with mom…aren't you."

"…Maybe."

"Ryo?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you…you know…take me with you?"

"What?"

"I've never met mom.  I can't remember her face or her voice.  Just once I'd like the chance to get to know her."

"Shou, I can't.  I'm really sorry, but it's just not possible.  Even if I could, you've still got school and friends and everything."

"What about you?  You're leaving a lot behind too."

"Like what?  Ayaka's not around anymore.  You and dad will be better off without another mouth to feed.  And if I stay at that dead-end job one more day it's going to kill me."

"What about the people who care about you?  What about me, dad and Ayaka?  Takato and those guys?  What about Rika?  What about her, Ryo?"

"I sent out an e-mail.  Besides, I'm not going to be gone forever."

"Rika's gonna kill you."

"I'd understand if she had to go away to see her dad for a month."

"Ooh.  I wouldn't explain it like that."

"Good point.  Look, just don't worry.  I'll think of something."

"But Ryo, I do worry.  We all do.  One of these times you might not come back."

Ryo didn't have any response for that last point.  He and Shou just stared at the floor for a while together.  Finally, Shou spoke again.

"But I doubt I'll change your mind.  It's just something I have to deal with."

"Sorry, bro."

"Well I guess this is it.  Goodnight, bro.  Have a good time, and don't go dying on me."

Shou stood and quietly returned to his own bedroom.  Ryo sighed again and finished packing.  Within minutes he was done and at the front door.  He looked around the darkened living room, wondering if he would ever see it again.

"So you're really leaving, huh?" asked a voice from the shadows.

"Don't try to stop me, dad."

"I've got to."

"We've already been over this.  I'm twenty-four, dad.  I'm not a child."

"Could've fooled me with the way you're acting."

"I'd think you'd be glad not to have me living here anymore."

"You can do what you want with your life.  You could live anywhere you want.  I just don't want you to do this to yourself."

"Well that's my choice to make."  He adjusted the duffel on his shoulder.

"Damn you're stubborn.  You always were.  Everything had to be your way since you were born.  Despite what you might think, you had more freedom than most kids could dream of growing up."

"…You want me to tell mom you said 'hi?'"

Ryo's father's expression instantly soured.  "Stubborn.  I don't know how I put up with it."

"I should only be gone for a month or so.  I'll call when I get back."

"If you step out that door, don't even bother."

Ryo and his dad locked eyes, each boiling over with anger.  Ryo knew his dad was serious this time.  This would be it.  And just like all their previous matches, neither one could stare the other down.  Ryo reached out and turned the handle.  As the door closed behind him it became clear that not only had neither of them won, but both of them had lost.

"Angemon!  Listen to this!" said Angewomon.

Back in the Ivory Tower, Angewomon had settled in quickly.  After hearing of Angemon's quest to learn about the enigmatic _Fifth Eye_ she had immediately agreed to help him.  After so much time cut-off from the duties of the DigiDestined she was more than eager to dive back in.

"What is it?" asked Angemon.

"This book is called _Legends and Myths of the Four Quadrants_.  It says here that many of the topics inside date back centuries."

"Does it make mention of _the Fifth Eye_?"

"I'm checking.  Just hold on."  She quickly thumbed through the pages.  "Aha!" she exclaimed.  "There it is!"

"Let me see!"

"Hey, come on now.  I don't need you reading over my shoulder."

"Alright, fine.  But what does it say?"

"Ahem.  'Although _the Fifth Eye_ has been a popular symbol in paintings and literature, there is some evidence that it may have been an actual artifact.  Real evidence of this is sparse, but that is not surprising as it is believed to have been lost or destroyed at the dawn of this age.  The rumors of the evil nature of _the Eye_ have made it a popular myth in cultic groups and a symbol of power among profoundly evil digimon, including the sinister Myotismon and the dreaded Dark Masters.'  It goes on for a while about nothing in particular here…okay.  Here we go.  'Many different theories exist as to the origin of the name, but the most popular theory traces its origin to the second century under the Sovereigns.  It is said that each Sovereign, though given their own quadrant to watch over, must also care for the other quadrants.  That is why they all have four eyes, so that they may watch over one quadrant with each eye, ensuring the safety of the entire Digital World.  The so-called _Fifth Eye was said to have similar power, granting its owner the ability to see and thus know all things that occur in the world and beyond, effectively making its owner a god.    Many other powers have been attributed to __the Eye throughout the centuries, but this is the only consistent one.  It should be noted that because the artifact's existence predates the name by nearly two hundred years, there is still much controversy regarding the artifact.'"_

"Strange."

"I'll sure say it is.  Do you think such a thing could really exist?"

"If it does, I can see why the Guardians are so nervous about it.  But still, we're no closer to finding it or the Destroyer."

"Right, right…"

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing here," Angemon said with a sigh.  "These books are all useless.  I can't even see Lucemon, much less convince him to aid us.  Meanwhile the Destroyer is out there getting stronger by the minute.  The life of everything out there is in jeopardy and here I am, locked away in this Ivory Tower, cut off from everything that's going on…everything that's important."

"Don't get down on yourself, Angemon.  What would TK say if he saw you like this?  You're the DigiDestined digimon of hope.  C'mon!  Keep a stiff upper lip."

"Yeah, yeah…I know.  But still—"

"But nothing.  I wasn't going to get your hopes up, but I asked Kuzamon to try to get you a meeting with Lucemon."

"But why would Kuzamon be able to help?  I mean, I know he's the gardener around here, but would Lucemon really listen to him?"

"There's more to Kuzamon than I've told you," said Angewomon, now speaking in a low whisper.  "Sure he was Oikawa's partner digimon, but his story is much longer than that.  Remember back ten years ago, the last time we met the Sovereigns."

"We had just reached Protomon's digiegg.  It seemed to…take us somewhere.  The Sovereigns were all there."

"Right.  They told us many, many things.  Remember how they talked about the Guardians?  How they too had partner digimon?"

"Oh yeah!  They were Azulongmon's agents.  But when Daemon first appeared from behind the wall of flame…"

"They were beaten.  The original DigiDestined had to be called in to fight Daemon back.  But there was more.  One of the Guardian digimon managed to escape Daemon's clutches."

"I don't remember that part."

"They mentioned it only in passing.  But that digimon was the leader of the whole group, though he was weakened a great deal.  He wanted so badly to free his companions that he was partnered with one of the DigiDestined, allowing him to fight on."

"Wait, are you saying…?"

"Oikawa was one of those DigiDestined, and Kuzamon was his partner."

"Then Kuzamon is the leader of the Guardian digimon.  Wow…"

"Actually, he WAS the leader.  As I understand it, the Guardian digimon have long since been scattered and separated from their partners."

"But I imagine he still gets a great deal of respect."

"From those who know of his true identity, yes.  Even Lucemon takes his council very seriously."

"You mean he doesn't make his past known?"

"No, and that's why I must trust you not to reveal what I have said."

"Why do you think he keeps it secret?"

"I have no idea.  He's very strange, but I don't think we're in any position to question him."

"You're probably right."

"So now you know.  Feel better?"

"Somewhat.  At least I know I have a chance of meeting with Lucemon now."

"Remember, Kuzamon can only get you an audience.  If you want to gain Lucemon's aid, you will need to do it all yourself."

"Gee, and I thought there was going to be pressure."

"Even if Lucemon chooses not to help, I want you to know that I'll be fighting when the time comes."

"Angewomon?"

"What?  You didn't think I'd let myself get out of shape, did you?"

"Well, living here all this time…"

"You're not the only one taking Goldramon's classes, you know."

"You too?"

"Of course!  I've always known I couldn't just sit on my hands and let everyone else take care of things for me."

"We'll be glad to have you."

"Hey, look who's here."

Angemon and Angewomon looked toward the library entrance where they could see Kuzamon walking swiftly toward them.

"Hey, Kuzamon," said Angemon once he had reached them.  "What's going on?"

"Angemon, it seems you have been summoned."

"Summoned?"

"I have spoken with Lucemon on your behalf.  He has listened to my words, and is willing to hear your case."

"Really?  That's fantastic!"

"However he will give  you no more than thirty minutes of his time, and you must go right now."

"Now?"

"Better hurry, Angemon," Angewomon advised.  "I doubt it would be wise to keep Lucemon waiting.  He's liable to cancel your appointment."

"Make your point swiftly and effectively, Angemon.  Do not waste time attempting to appeal to him emotionally.  Only if he believes your problem deserves his personal intervention will he invite you back for a second meeting."

"Alright.  Just one question: where is he?"

"Just keep going up.  His sanctuary is situated on Deus level, at the very top of the tower.  Now go."

"Good luck, Angemon!"

Angemon waved quickly and rushed out of the library toward Lucemon's sanctuary with all possible speed.

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[Ooh.  That wasn't half bad.  But in case some of it confused you, I'd recommend going back to _The Crest of Corruption_ and re-reading chapter 21 and skimming through those that deal with Ryo.  If you liked it, review.  If you didn't like it, still review!  But at least tell me what wasn't so good about it.  Until next time…]


	11. Mother's Day

[Sorry it's taken me so long to get out this next chapter.  It may not be the most action-packed, but it will certainly answer some questions…or else it'll just make things even more confusing.  I don't know.  It's a weird one, so I recommend you pay close attention.]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It took Angemon no more than two minutes to ascend the great height of the tower flying at top speed.  It was easy, but then again he did it without thinking.  The difficult task was what lay before him, just on the other side of those large double-doors on the top level, closely guarded by four HolyKnightmon.

Angemon hesitated for a moment.  He took in his surroundings.  Everything was just like it was throughout the main column of the tower, with the exception that there was a domed ceiling overhead.  The HolyKnightmon waited in silence, standing erect and motionless.

"E-excuse me," Angemon finally said.

The HolyKnightmon looked him up and down, and without a word they all tapped the butts of their spears on the ground in unison.  Slowly, the heavy doors hiding Lucemon's sanctuary parted and slid back.  The HolyKnightmon quickly averted their eyes, but Angemon continued to look straight ahead into the glowing interior.  With a building sense of wonder, Angemon stepped forward into a place reserved for only the highest of all angel digimon.

Angemon's breath caught in his throat for a moment.  His eyes adjusted to the intense light after a few seconds and he began to see marvelous sights all around him.  He had entered into a cavernous, domed chamber.  Enormous, ovoid windows that stretched from floor to ceiling and circled the room looked out onto the sapphire sky.  The air was even fresher than it had been in the main tower, if possible.  Thin, marble columns separated the huge windows from one another, and up each support grew a different kind of green vine.  Some had flowers, some had fruit, and some simply had leaves.  And yet all of them were very healthy without having rooted themselves in any soil and having nothing but stone and sunlight to feed from.

Angemon took in a deep breath and walked forward a little more.  Now no longer in the small vestibule at the entrance, Angemon could take in the full scope of the room.  Before him the room dropped down in a manner befitting an amphitheater.  But at the room's center was not a stage, but a stone ring enclosing a patch of unremarkable soil from which grew a sensational tree, whose trunk was nearly ten feet thick and stood as high as the ceiling.  Its limbs hung overhead, and their leaves created a cooling shade.  On the great tree there grew a multitude of other plants of all types.  The harmony of it was breathtaking; that so many different plants could all live and thrive as one was truly incredible.  Angemon even recognized a cluster of blue roses that Angewomon had brought, but they had grown remarkably in two days, not only taking root but already climbing their way up the tree.

"Unbelievable…" Angemon gasped.

After taking a few moments to collect himself, Angemon again began to walk forward.  He moved slowly, fearful to disturb the sanctity of this place.  But he knew he had to speak with Lucemon, and he knew he had only minutes to convince him to listen.  That would of course be much easier if he could find him.

"L-l-lord Lucemon?" Angemon stammered.  "I've come to see you…"

Angemon received no answer, and though he had spoken quietly there was a powerful echo in the sanctum.  Feeling braver, he walked forward at a much brisker pace.  Before he knew it he was at the base of the great tree.

"Well, big fella'?" he asked of the tree.  "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Lucemon, would ya?"

The tree sat, thought, and responded with silence.

"I thought as much."  Angemon reached out and set his left hand on the tree's trunk.  The second he touched the bark, though, a powerful feeling overcame him and he pulled away.  He looked at the tree, and then down at his hand.  He was then compelled to look up, and he did so just as a perfect, white feather came floating down to meet him.

"A feather?" he asked, snatching it from the air.

And then he knew.  He spread his wings and calmly rose into the air.  He went up to the first branch, and there he found just what he had hoped to.  The digimon had his back turned to him, but there were ten white wings on his back.  Aside from the digimon's very human legs which hung over the other side of the branch, the only other part Angemon could see was the hair of spun gold atop the digimon's head and the two white wings that sprung from it.

"Twelve wings…" he muttered to himself.  "The perfect angel…"

"Thy perceptions serve thee well, my child," the digimon said in an infinitely wise voice without twitching a muscle.

"Are you…Lucemon?"

"I am.  And thou art the one Kuzamon spoke of."

"Yes, my lord."

"Thy speech is filled with platitudes, but thy words lack meaning.  Come!  Speak thy heart."

"I, uh, yes…sir…I…"

"Surely thy anxiety hath done thee in.  Perhaps thou wouldst find thy tongue shouldst I turn and face thee."

"Uh…yes.  Perhaps."

Lucemon silently slipped off the bough and descended gracefully to the stone floor.  Angemon followed a moment later.  Angemon stood at attention for a few seconds, afraid to speak.  Lucemon took that as a sign to turn around and show himself to Angemon.

Angemon couldn't believe his eyes.  Lucemon was…a child.  He couldn't have possibly been more than half as tall as Angemon.  His body was that of a human boy, clad only in a simple white tunic.  He also wore heavy gold rings on each of his wrists and ankles, and there were strange, purple, painted designs on his left chest and cheek.  His face was round and his large, sky-blue eyes looked up at him from beneath his semi-curly, blonde hair.  But he also had some very in-human qualities, starting of course with his giant, white wings.  Then there was his expression, which had seemed unemotional at first, now looked to hide a great seriousness.  His eyes seemed to overflow with timeless wisdom, and his mouth was fixed in a position that Angemon had trouble determining if it was a smile or a frown.

"A…a child?"

Lucemon smiled, and there was no doubt about that.  "Angemon, hast thou ever heard that the greatest of deceit's weapons is sight?"

"Uh…no, sir, I haven't."

Another smile.  "Angemon, I sense many questions within thee, but I perceive little time for them."

Angemon could do no more than bring himself to nod, still shocked at being in Lucemon's presence and at finding out that he bore the look of a child.

"But until thou hast asked thy first question of me, I fear thou willst be unable to speak of that which hast brought you here…at least with any deal of focus."

"My…first…question?"

"An irrelevant question, no doubt.  Hardly deserving of an answer.  It shall come to thee…now."

And at that precise moment, a question popped into Angemon's head.  "Sir, if I may…with all these windows, how come people never see you?  Couldn't they simply look in if they wanted to?"

Lucemon's smile grew.  "Again, it is sight that is at fault.  What thou dost perceive as a vast open space, those outside see as solid stone.  But who is correct?"

Angemon thought it over for a few seconds.  Finally, he admitted, "I don't know."

"Then thou art prepared to speak to me of the issue thou hast brought before me."

Taking his cue from Lucemon, Angemon began to speak of his mission.  He spoke of the Guardians and Omnimon, of the Triadic Verse and the Destroyer, of the Canimon he had left back at the village and of his own past dealings with MaloMyotismon and NightmareOmnimon.  Lucemon listened along, nodding occasionally and considering each point as it came up.  Angemon spoke as long as he could, and when he was finally done he was thanked and graciously dismissed by Lucemon, who said he would consider Angemon's case and call him up again should he decide to hear more.  Relieved that the experience was over, Angemon quickly left and returned to the library to find Angewomon and Kuzamon and tell them of his meeting with Lucemon.

Day 22 

The sun began to rise over the eastern sea, just as it did every day.  It had been another long, sleepless night for the Guardian, Elena.  She had worked tirelessly for weeks now, moving between the Phoenix, Dragon, Tiger and Turtle Gates.  The Great Axis, a seemingly bottomless chasm which passed down through every layer of the Digital World, served as the focal point at the center of the four gates.

Elena rubbed her temples to try to relieve her pounding headache.  In spite of all her long hours of work, she had yet to make any real progress.  She had yet to find anything relevant to the current situation in any of the ancient hieroglyphs.  She even began to wonder if she should just move on and try to go help Malkis.  At least then she could feel useful.

But then again that would be going against the orders of both Omnimon and Virgil.  She wasn't about to disobey either of them over a little boredom.  And thus, with a heavy sigh, she turned back to great wall of blue stone and coral that spread before her, decorated with ornate hieroglyphics from ancient times.  It was no different than most of the walls to be found in the Dragon Gate, formerly Azulongmon's abode.  Her boredom did not last long, though, for only a few minutes later she discovered that an uninvited guest appeared.

"Hey," said a young, male voice.

Elena looked up from the wall-carvings she had been pouring over in the Dragon Gate.  The intruder stuck to the shadows, but his figure was human.

"Hi," she said hesitantly.  "Who are you?  Why have you come?"

She watched the man shift his weight, allowing a large, heavy bag to slide from his shoulder and onto the ground.  "Sorry I haven't been around lately…"

Elena took a closer look.  She stepped forward a little bit and peered into the shadows.  The stranger took a couple steps forward and a few rays of light fell across his face.

"It's…it's you!"

Both stood there motionless; the only sound was that of the crashing waves.  Then they rushed toward each other.  When they met they entered a firm, unbelieving embrace.  After the hearty hug, Elena grabbed the young man by the cheeks and bent his face down to her.  She gave him a playful kiss on the forehead and they gave each other a second, shorter hug.

"What are you doing here?!" Elena asked.

"I'm here to see you, of course!"

"Did you bring anyone else?  What about—"

"Sorry," he said sincerely.  "I'm all alone."

"In more ways than one, I take it," she said as she started to read through his happy expression.  "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it now.  Come on!  It's been years!  Let's paint the town red!"

"Oh no you don't.  You may be all grown up now but I'm still your mother, Ryo Akiyama!  Now what's wrong?"

Ryo, the young man with spiked brown hair, worn out clothing and eyes as clear and blue as Azulongmon's oceans, just stood and smiled unconvincingly.

"Fine.  We don't have to talk about it now, but believe me when I say we will," said Elena.

"Hey mom, what's with the getup?  Afraid to show your face?"

"Oh!  I nearly forgot!"  Elena pulled her hood back from off her head and brushed the cinnamon hair from her cerulean eyes.  She radiated beauty, and looked about twenty-five by human reckoning, possibly a little younger.

"Wow…" Ryo said nostalgically.  "I mean…wow.  You haven't aged a day since I was born."

"Honey, I haven't aged a day in nearly a thousand years."

"It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too."

"What are you doing at the Dragon Gate, by the way?"

"You know the place?"

"Yeah.  I spent my fair share of time in this area as a kid.  The place certainly held up, even with Azulongmon gone."

"They certainly were the proud architects."

"So what're you here for anyway?"

"Well… You've come at something of a bad time.  We're having a small crisis here."

"What, is the D-Reaper back and eating everything again?"  Ryo laughed.

"…I wish."

"What?"

"It's nothing to concern yourself with."

"Come on.  What is it?"

"You have to tell me what's wrong with you first."

They were both silent for a little while after that.  It was clear that neither of them was interested in a serious discussion at the moment.

Finally, Elena spoke.  "You've certainly grown up to be a handsome man."

"Thanks."

"I bet you've got all the girls chasing after you."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"But…?"

"What makes you thinks there's a 'but?'"

"I could see it in your eyes."

"But…there's only one girl I'm interested in."

"Is she nice?"

"Nice?  Um…she's more challenging than nice."

Elena laughed.  "I should've known.  You always did like a challenge, Ryo.  Even when you were a baby you never wanted to take the easy path."

"Well I know she sure doesn't like to make things easy on me."

"I bet you two are great together."

"I guess."

"…And what about your father?" she asked in a somewhat more serious tone.

"Dad is…dad."

"I take it this is where the problem lies."

Ryo said nothing.

"I know we don't speak much—"

"This will be the second time since I was six."

"Right, and I'm sorry about that.  I'm not the best mother.  In fact, I've hardly been a mother at all.  But I'm here now, and I'd like to help if I can."

"When I left home a couple days ago dad told me not to bother going back.  He meant it this time.  I know he did."

"That's terrible."

"But maybe it's better this way.  I'm finally out of that house.  I don't have to deal with him anymore.  And maybe I can be happy here.  After all, I've always been drawn to this world.  No doubt I owe that to your genes."

"Ryo…honey…you can't.  You're human too, and that means you've got to go back eventually."

"Says who?"

"Maybe…maybe you should learn a few things about your father."

"What's to learn?  He's just a bitter old man.  He'd probably be a drunk if it weren't—"

Elena gave Ryo a brisk slap to the face, leaving a red hand-print on his left cheek.

"Don't ever talk about him like that.  He was my love once, and he's always going to be your father.  But you've given me all the more reason to tell me about your father now.  Take a seat."

Ryo grabbed his duffel bag and sat down on it.  Elena kneeled in front of him and began to relate the tale.

"It was a very long time ago.  Only a few centuries after Protomon was lost to this world, the terrible beast known as Daemon appeared.  We Guardians were all captured along with our partners.  Azulongmon, with his diminishing power, called out to the Earth for aid.  Five humans, children in fact, heard the call and were brought to our world.  For the first time, life-forms had actually passed between the worlds."

"What made them so special?"

"Well, they were the first humans physiologically capable of being joined to a digimon and passing from one world to the next.  There were only five such humans then, but within a few generations this ability should be carried by every human."

"That's incredible."

"Regardless, the five children arrived and were joined to digimon.  These 'DigiDestined' as they came to be called fought many, many battles.  They became known and loved throughout the Digital World for their crusade.  Legends grew up around them, temples were built celebrating them, but all of their fame could not win the final battle for them.  It was very difficult, dragging on for hours, but when Azulongmon managed to break free of Daemon's restraint he himself went into battle.  The DigiDestined freed us and together we all defeated Daemon and cast his scattered data into the Dark Ocean."

"Excuse me, but what does all of this have to do with my dad?"

"Patience, Ryo.  The five DigiDestined…it seems so long ago now.  The leader was a boy of sixteen.  He was very warm and caring early on, but I fear the whole experience wore away at him.  By the end he was severe in his personality, frightening even.

"Then there was the only girl in the group.  She was fifteen I believe, and was one of the kindest humans I've ever met.  I believe it was she who held the group together through the most trying times.

"There were the two other boys, both eleven.  They were best friends, and I believe they remained so for years afterward.  Hiroki and Yukio were their names.  They may have been the youngest, but they had the most heart."

"That's only four."

"So it is.  The fifth one was a boy of fourteen.  Jet-black hair, emotionally isolated, he had a quiet dignity about him.  He really started to open up by the end.  If only things had turned out differently."

"What do you mean?"

"After Daemon was beaten, the gateway began to destabilize.  The DigiDestined had to run to escape back to their own world.  The first four were able to make it through the gate, but it closed before the fifth could enter.  Another gate materialized and he stepped through, but that gate did not take him home.  He was delivered to the Earth to the south rather than in the east.  It was a long time ago and we had not developed the capabilities for inter-dimensional movement we have now.  And thus, he was trapped."

"He couldn't get home?"

"No.  At the time we knew little about inter-dimensional transport.  We had no means to return him to his home."

"So what happened to him?"

"He had it pretty rough.  Taken to an orphanage by police…sent through foster home after foster home…and all the time he grew more angry and bitter toward the whole Digital World for what it had done to him.  I know this because…I was there."

"You were?"

"Yes.  Even though sending him home was beyond us, we Guardians possess an almost instinctive ability to move as we please.  I tried to help him get through it all, but I was ill-equipped to do anything more than advise him."

"How did it go?"

"I did my best.  I tried to be there for him.  Before I realized it I had been going back and forth between the worlds for three years.  I think it was the intimacy that came from years of being around each other that led us both to believe that we were in love.  He was young and ruled by his hormones.  I should have known better, but I'd come to feel a great deal of affection toward him."

"You're talking about my dad, aren't you?"

"Indeed.  Maybe it was because I wanted so badly to lead a normal life like so many of the humans and digimon I had seen.  Maybe it was just that I wanted to know what passion was.  Whatever the reason was, he and I ended up together.  I knew it was a mistake, but it felt so right."

"I've been running the math in my head.  I think I can see where this is going."

"Right.  Your sister was the result.  I had no idea that we Guardians could reproduce, especially with humans.  I suppose Protomon had his reasons when he made us, but in any case I was pregnant.  It was then and there that I decided to leave my old life behind and try to live as a human, with your father.  You came along three years later, and then your brother six years after that.  I was happy, or at least I thought I was.  Watching you all grow around me, though, made me more and more self-conscious that I was not aging at all.  I was unchanged, despite all I went through over those years.  It was clear that there was no escaping what I really was.  It fell apart after Shou was born.  Gennai reappeared with dire news of the rise of four digimon known as the Dark Masters.  He needed me to return with him to prepare the way for a new group of DigiDestined."

"So you just left?"

"No, no.  At first I tried to find a balance.  I moved back and forth, trying to save the Digital World and trying to raise you three at the same time.  But soon I knew I was failing at both, and I had to make a choice.  I tried to talk about it with your father but all the anger he felt toward the Digital World came right back.  He said he'd be happy to see it destroyed.  I thought about it long and hard, but finally I had to go."

Ryo was silent for a while.  He could have cried then as he thought back to all those years ago.  "But why?  Why'd you have to leave us, mom?"

"It was the hardest choice I've ever faced.  Leaving meant destroyer a piece of myself, but I would make the same decision again, for protecting this world is part of who I am as its Guardian, just as protecting you is part of who I am as your mother."

"Alright…" Ryo said with a depressed expression.  "So then what happened?"

"I was surprised how much it had all changed when I returned.  I found that our partner digimon had all left us behind long ago and broken apart to lead their own lives.  I never even had the chance to say goodbye to my partner, Kizokumon.  Things were very bad for a long time.  It was very nearly the end of everything.  But finally our work paid off.  The world was saved.  The new DigiDestined were heroes.  Peace reigned once again.  I tried to return afterwards but your father turned me away at the door.  I guess my leaving only added fuel to the fire."

"And now I'm in the same boat," said Ryo.  "I've left him for the world he hates."

"He'll take you back.  He's still for dad and he will always love you."

"Thanks."

They sat for a while longer, quietly reflecting on their shared past.  The waves continued to crash against the temple.  The salty sea air danced about their noses.  The blue sky blazed overhead.  It was Ryo who broke the silence after many minutes.

"So what happened to the other four?"

"Who?"

"The other four DigiDestined."

"Oh, yes.  Of course.  You understand most of what I know is second-hand."

"Continue."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that those first five DigiDestined were deeply affected by everything they went through, and for the most part the results were destructive.  Your father of course was separated from all his family and friends.  His whole life was undone by it, and now he's resentful toward all digimon."

"And the others?"

"Fortunately, none had it as bad as your father.  The two boys, Hiroki and Yukio, grew up as good friends.  Their love for digimon continued over time, but it all came to an end when Hiroki, a police officer by then, died in the line of duty.  He left behind a wife and a young son.  Yukio was devastated and a foul digimon known as both the Deceiver and Myotismon used that to his advantage.  The creature nested inside Yukio for years until he had gathered enough power to return to the Digital World and use his new, terrifying powers.  Yukio's body was too damaged to survive, and he gave the last bit of life he had to restore this world to its normal state."

"How awful.  I can't believe so much tragedy could befall such a small group.  What of the other two?"

"The girl seems to have done well for herself.  She has been through a divorce, though; certainly nothing terribly unusual.  It does seem like she's completely forgotten about how things were back then, or maybe she just doesn't want to remember.  She's had virtually no contact with any of the other four since they returned home.  I doubt she'd even recognize them."

"And the leader?"

"He was an unusually bright child.  He seemed like he could do no wrong.  Always confident, on top of things, brave.  But the months of fighting against Daemon's forces took their toll on him.  He'd changed by the end.  He was as talented and courageous as ever, but he was sad, withdrawn, and somewhat sinister.  He performed very well in school and eventually proved to be a genius engineer.  He could hardly keep up with all the patents and promotions.  He eventually started his own technology business, made millions, and practically defined the unbridled success."

"Sounds like he had all the good luck."

"On the outside, perhaps.  But the other Guardians tell me that success has not brought him happiness.  His is still a tormented soul.  I only wish I knew of a way to release him of his misery."

"What about my dad?  He's got it a lot worse than this guy."

"What would you have us do?  Send him home?  There's no longer a home for him in the east.  We have no way to find any of his relatives.  He'd have nothing there.  Maybe if we'd been quicker to find a way to return him…"

"Forget it.  I don't blame you…even if dad does."

"I take it he doesn't think fondly of me."

"You could say that."

"Such is the burden I must endure."

"It's my burden too, now."

"What?"

"Look, I've been given the power to move between the worlds, just like all of you.  Shouldn't I use that power for its intended purpose?"

"Ryo, that's very thoughtful, but you're just not a Guardian.  We can do much more than move between two worlds.  Besides, it's a difficult, thankless life."

"I've got to help."

"Then help yourself.  Don't take the easy way out this time.  You've always liked a challenge, so why stop now?  Go home and fight for yourself.  Maybe, if you try hard enough, you'll be able to live your life in both worlds."

Ryo was silent for a while.  Elena could see that he was mulling it over.  She waited patiently until he finally spoke up.  "Okay."

She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder.  "I'm glad to hear it."

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if I, you know, stayed for a little while longer?  Just a few days, maybe?  I could help you with what you're doing here.  And by the looks of it you could use the company."

Her smile widened.  "I'd be happy to have you, Ryo."

They both stood again.  The salty ocean waves lapped against the building outside.  The sun was high overhead.  The sky and sea were perfectly blue.  It was great weather for a meeting as unusual as this one.

As eager as he was to continue his journey (and escape Babamon's cooking), it was of little surprise that Jenomon was back on his feet again in only two days.  His leg still hurt a little, but he could walk on it, and since the danger of the wound splitting open again had passed, he decided to be on his way.  Babamon gave the outward appearance of being glad to be rid of him, but Jenomon suspected she would miss him once he was gone.

Now over an hour out of the wooded valley, Jenomon slowly plodded his way through a region of rolling hills and short grasses.  Jenomon found this all exceptionally boring, what with having no one to talk to and nothing to do except for more walking.  He glanced at the sun every now and then as its trek across the sky mirrored his own trek across the land.

Pretty soon it was late in the afternoon and the sun was starting its final descent toward the horizon.  Jenomon continued to walk along with his eyes to the ground, his neck limp and his shoulders rolled forward.  Even just by looking at him it was clear that he couldn't have been any more dead to the world if he were sleepwalking.  That is, to say, until he very nearly ran right into another traveler.

"Yo!  Watch it!"

Jenomon came to a sudden stop and snapped back to reality.  His eyes quickly came to rest on the behemoth dinosaur digimon standing before him.  With its red eyes, thick, green skin and enormous horns, the beast was more than a little intimidating.

"Keep yer eyes open, pipsqueak!  You nearly smacked right int'a me!"

"Well you should've gotten out of the way you big…big…what are you anyway?"

"You stupid or somethin'?  Da name's Tuskmon, and don't ferget it."

"There's not much risk of that."

"Yo, meatball!  You look familiar."

"Meatball?  I'm Jenomon."

"I knew it!  What a break, yeah?"

"A break?"

"Totally!  My lucky day, I guess.  Sorry half-pint, but da boss says you gots ta die."

"You're gonna kill me?!"

"Dat's da plan!"  Tuskmon lunged at Jenomon with his entire body.  Jenomon hurled himself out of the way as Tuskmon plowed his horns into the dirt with the full force of his girth.  "Yo!  Stand still and maybe I'll end it quick, yeah?"

"Maybe we can talk about this!" shouted Jenomon.

"Orders is orders!"

Tuskmon pulled himself from the dirt, moving a small mountain of topsoil in the process.  He shook himself clean and then charged again.  Jenomon leaped over his head this time and ran down his back.  Tuskmon made a clumsy attack with his bulky tail but missed by a mile.  Jenomon landed again and started to sprint away.  Tuskmon then turned and let out a ferocious roar.  He charged after Jenomon with all his strength, and although he was slow to accelerate his great momentum quickly took over and he gained quickly on Jenomon.  Jenomon knew he was in big trouble.  His mind raced, desperate to find an escape from this lummox.  Jenomon knew he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he also knew he could outsmart this Tuskmon in his sleep.

Jenomon tried moving in a rapid zigzag pattern in the hope that Tuskmon would attempt to mimic him and thus lose his footing.  There was no such luck, as Tuskmon continued to barrel straight ahead.  Jenomon thought harder.  There was nowhere to hide in sight, Tuskmon was clearly not up for a conversation, and there was no way of outpacing the beast in a straight run.  But perhaps if Jenomon made a sharp, sudden turn…

Before Jenomon could finish formulating his plan another surprise dropped from the sky…literally.  In a blue blur, a digimon flew in from overhead and booted Tuskmon right in the snout. The monster was stopped in his tracks and laid out flat on his back with a bloody nose and one beast of a headache.

"Are you alright?" asked the blue and white, humanoid dragon digimon.

"I'm fine…just fine." Jenomon replied.  "But who are you?  Why did you save me?"

"I am Exveemon, protector of the innocent and defender of justice!" the digimon said in a clearly rehearsed manner.  "I take care of all the downtrodden in this region and have sworn to put down all evil once and for—"

"Oh give it a rest," said a second, heroic voice.

Both Exveemon and Jenomon looked up to see a humanoid insect digimon clad in a green carapace hovering above.

"Come on, Stingmon! You know saying that is my favorite part."

"I know, I know.  It's just that I've already heard it three times today.  Honestly, isn't that enough?"

"Yo!  Who's da bum what broke my nose?!" Tuskmon demanded as he made his way up to his feet.

"Guys?" asked Jenomon.

"Don't worry.  He won't hurt you," said Stingmon.

"Not as long as we're around."  Exveemon cracked his knuckles.

"Youse guys got lucky dis time!"  Tuskmon turned tail and ran.

"See?" asked Stingmon.  "That was pretty sim—"

Stingmon was cut off by the much unexpected sight of Tuskmon suddenly collapsing as he ran without making a sound.  His data immediately broke apart and was scattered into the wind.

"What just happened?" Exveemon asked.

"I have no idea," Stingmon said in a shocked tone.

"Don't bother yourselves wondering," said a voice that was dripping with cruelty.  "It will all be over soon enough."

"Where is that coming from?" asked Jenomon.

"I don't know," said Exveemon.

"Stay in close," Stingmon ordered.  "I sense an evil presence."

"Please, allow me to reveal myself…" said the voice.

A cloud of purple, toxic vapor suddenly arose from where Tuskmon had fallen.  The cloud grew larger and denser by the second until it finally started to dissipate, leaving a giant, sinister figure in its place: the figure of Mephismon.

"Hello, my dear prey," he said with a sadistic smile.


	12. Mephismon Attacks

[Last time we left our friends, Exveemon and Stingmon had just rescued the hapless Jenomon from a terrible Tuskmon.  But as Tuskmon ran off he was struck down.  The unexpected appearance of Mephismon means the arrival of a much more dangerous foe, and a possible death sentence for these three brave warriors…]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Who's this clown?" asked Exveemon.

"Don't to anything rash," Stingmon advised.  "He doesn't look like a run-of-the-mill bad guy."

"You may call me Mephismon.  I'm here to kill you."

"Well I don't care who you are!  You're not going to get away with senseless killing so easily!"

"I'll back you the whole way, Exveemon!" Jenomon said with renewed bravery.

"Let's play," said Mephismon.

"If you insist!  V-Laser!"

Exveemon shot an intense blast from the x-shaped design on his chest, but as soon as he did, Mephismon leapt high into the air and did a flip before landing right behind Exveemon.  With a single unbelievably fast kick he propelled Exveemon fifty feet through the air until he finally hit the ground and bounced along it until he came to rest.  An instant after he had hit Exveemon with the kick, Mephismon brought his right arm up with frightening speed, slamming the back of his hand into Stingmon's face and knocking him to the ground.

"Pathetic," said Mephismon.  "But what have we here?"

Mephismon then grabbed Jenomon in his hand, nearly crushing his puny body.  He sniffed him once, then twice.  A puzzled expression came over his face.

"Odd," he said out loud.  "You have the stink of humans about you.  And yet…you do not bear the mark of one who has been joined with them."

Jenomon struggled to escape, snarling, straining and biting.

"No matter.  I'll simply kill you and that will be the end of it."

"Release him!" shouted Stingmon.

Mephismon and Jenomon looked over at Stingmon, who was back on his feet again.

"Stingmon!  I need help!"

"Don't worry!  I'll put a stop to this."

"Don't make me laugh," Mephismon scoffed.

"Laugh at this!  Spiking Strike!"

Stingmon flew at Mephismon with his blade extended.  He aimed right for Mephismon's head, but Mephismon brought his free hand up just in time, taking the force of Stingmon's attack on the palm.

"V-Laser!"

A second unforeseen attack came in and hit the arm with which Mephismon held onto Jenomon.  Startled, Mephismon dropped the tiny digimon.  Jenomon quickly put some distance between himself and Mephismon.  Mephismon meanwhile grabbed Stingmon by the throat and turned his gaze toward the now recovered Exveemon.

"V-Laser!"

This time Mephismon stepped out of the way of Exveemon's attack.

"Let Stingmon go!" Exveemon yelled.

"Gladly…"  Mephismon hurled Stingmon at Exveemon.  Exveemon could do no more than try to catch his out of control companion.  This ended up flattening them both.

"Now to finish this," said Mephismon.

"Hold it!" yelled Jenomon.

Mephismon casually looked over at Jenomon.  "Don't worry.  I'll get to you."

"You're not touching them!"

"No?"

"Not until you go through me!"

Mephismon smiled and began walking toward Exveemon and Stingmon, who were still struggling to rise again.

"I told you to fight me first!" Jenomon cried.  Mephismon merely ignored him.  "Fine then!  I'll just have to come to you!"

Jenomon charged with all the speed he could muster.  Once he was close enough he jumped at Mephismon and used his Rage Claw attack to punch and scratch at the beast.  He gave it everything he had, attacking from every angle and at every point.  Mephismon still ignored him, feeling no pain and receiving no damage.  Things seemed very bleak for the heroic trio.

"Jenomon!" Stingmon managed to cry out as he forced himself to his feet again.  "Leave!  We got this covered!"

"No!" he shouted, slamming his fist into Mephismon's shoulder.  "Not," he kicked Mephismon in the ribs, "again!" he head-butted the beast's nose.  Jenomon landed, looking very exhausted.  "I won't let it happen again!"  He tried to claw at Mephismon's ankles.  "For Guilmon!"  With his remaining strength he leaped up to the Mephismon's face and struck at both of the monster's eyes with his deadly claws.

Mephismon pulled back in sudden pain.  He knocked Jenomon away with his left arm and covered his eyes with his right hand.  Jenomon hit the ground, bounced once, and then came to a stop face-down.

"Jenomon!" Exveemon shouted.

"Exveemon!  We must attack now!" said Stingmon.

"But what about—"

"This is our only chance!"

"…Okay!  Let's get him!"

"Spiking…"

"V…"

"…Strike!"

"…Laser!"

Stingmon moved in first, hitting Mephismon with his attack, but Mephismon was able to block.  A moment later, Exveemon's V-Laser came in behind Stingmon, pressing against him and giving him enough force to overcome Mephismon's powerful defense.  Stingmon knocked Mephismon to the ground and quickly flew back to rejoin Exveemon.

"Nice shot," said Exveemon.

"You weren't too bad yourself."

They both watched with unsurprised faces as Mephismon rose to his feet again and dusted himself off.

"Annoying," he said with a slight growl.  "I've had enough of this.  This fight ends now.  Death Cloud!"

Mephismon folded his arms in front of himself and then swung them out wide with a great deal of force, expelling a cloud of purple, noxious fumes in the process.  The cloud was moving very quickly toward Exveemon and Stingmon.

"No!" Jenomon shouted.  His digivice began to glow and he felt a sudden upsurge of data from deep within himself.  It gathered in around his body, shining with an intense white light and then it exploded all around him.  Then his whole body went numb and his mind went blank.

Exveemon and Stingmon, not having time to escape the deadly gas, raised their arms to block their faces from the assault.  But just as it was about to hit them a red blur passed between them from behind, shooting ahead right for Mephismon and his deadly attack.

"Fire Flash!" the blur shouted.  It was instantly wrapped in an aura of flame, which ignited the toxic cloud before it even reached Stingmon and Exveemon.  The ignited poison hit Mephismon at the same time as the strange red blur, knocking Mephismon to the ground again.  The creature that had attacked landed and the flame around it dispersed, revealing Jenomon in his new, evolved form of Setomon.  He was very similar to his female counterpart, although his limbs were significantly more muscular, and on his right shoulder he bore three large, black stripes.  His digivice was now clipped onto one of his three golden tail rings.

"You two okay?" Setomon asked in a voice that lay somewhere between a growl and that of a teenage boy.

"Yeah," said Exveemon.  "Is that you, Jenomon?"

"Setomon, now," he said gruffly.  "C'mon.  Now I can be a bit more useful."

"Yes.  Let's work together to stop this fiend," said Stingmon.

By that time Mephismon was back to his feet, still without signs of damage.  "So he has evolved," he said to himself.  "Most perplexing, but still only a nuisance.  This mystery ends with his death."

"Fire Flash!"

Engulfed again by flame, Setomon charged.  He moved in with blinding speed and left a trail of fire in his wake.  He made one leap into the air and headed directly at Mephismon with his front claws extended and his teeth bared.  He flew forward with all his newfound strength and speed, but Mephismon did not flinch.  Instead he simply lifted his right arm high above his head.  And then, when Setomon was within a foot of smashing into him, Mephismon brought his hand down with all the speed and strength of a bolt of lightning.  He slapped Setomon with such force that he buried him in the ground up to his neck.

Mephismon looked down at his prey, a smug smile on his wicked face.  But as he looked up again he saw an incoming attack he didn't even have time to react to.  He was instantly hit in the face by simultaneous flying kicks from Stingmon ad Exveemon.  The combined force of the kicks catapulted Mephismon through the air on his back.  He regained his balance in mid-flight and quickly reached out with both hands and grabbed the ground below.  His grip was so strong that his body flipped completely over with the same speed it had been traveling with; his feet hit the ground and released all the force he'd been hit with from the attack, and he was once again facing Stingmon and Exveemon.

Mephismon lifted his eyes again, and just as before he saw Stingmon and Exveemon coming in for a hit.  This time around he was just able to lift his arms to protect his face before they struck with a vicious series of punches.  Mephismon was finding their attacks to be seemingly gaining power with each attempt.  Clearly they had a very unusual strategy here.  It was almost like they were fighting as one being, synchronizing their attacks for greater power than either could muster alone.  Their punches continued to pound away at him, but his defenses remained sturdy under pressure.

"Keep it up!" Exveemon yelled.  "He's weakening."

Mephismon knew that the only thing that was being weakened by these incessant attacks was his patience.  He had to end this immediately.

"Enough!"  Mephismon pulled his arms away and rammed his great horns into the heads of his enemies, stunning them both for the moment.  "I will waste no more time here!"

"Neither will we," said Stingmon, rising again in a fighting stance.

"You're going down hard," Exveemon said in a similar stance.

"It's three on one now," said Setomon, moving into position beside Exveemon and Stingmon.  There was blood dripping from an open wound on his forehead and he looked a bit worse for wear, but he still had the fighting spirit.  "We won't give up."

Mephismon looked at each of them in turn.  There was no fear in his eyes, only contempt.  Then he rose up to his full height and flexed his many muscles.  "Then you will all be eliminated, little one…"  Black electrical sparks began to swarm over Mephismon's body, creating a strange crackling noise.  "With my ultimate attack, I shall slay you all and consume your data in one motion.  Black Sabbath!"

Mephismon lurched forward to unleash his ultimate attack, but just as he was about to, all three of his opponents disappeared without a trace.  They were simply gone in the blink of an eye with no trace of them left behind.  Mephismon looked about hastily.  He sniffed the air to find some trail.  Finding none, he beat the ground with his fist in frustration.  Somehow they had evaded him, those lesser digimon.

"Damn," he cursed.

"What happened?" Setomon demanded as he watched the land passing rapidly beneath him.  He and the others had both been swept away in some kind of invisible, flying bubble.

"Relax, said a nearby voice.  "It was just me."

"Who are you? Setomon, Exveemon, and Stingmon all asked.

"Me?" asked the puny, pink, winged digimon with the spear.  "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Piximon."

"Piximon…" said Stingmon.  "Have we met before?"

"We sure did, scout.  I ran into you kids nearly ten years ago.  I'm surprised you remembered."

"Oh yeah, I recognize that face," said Exveemon.  "But from where?"

"Weren't you there when we fought the virus?" asked Stingmon.

"Bingo!  You win a prize," said Piximon.

"That's right," said Exveemon.  "I remember now."

"Excuse me, but just what is going on?" asked Setomon.  "Would someone explain how and why we were all saved by a chew toy?"

"Chew toy?!  I'll have you know I've trained the strongest digimon this world has ever seen for over seven hundred years!"

"Okay, so you're an old chew toy."

"Would you like me to take you back and drop you at Mephismon's feet?"

"Whatever."

"Ooh!  Now this is why I don't train juveniles!  They think they know everything!"

"But why did you save us?" asked Exveemon.

"And how?" Stingmon added.

Piximon sighed.  "I saved you because you were in trouble.  I did it by picking you up in this little invisible sphere of mine.  Speaking of that, it's a little cramped.  Why don't you three take it down a notch?  You'll save your strength and I won't have to deal with the smell of three sweaty numbskulls right in my face."

Choosing to ignore the 'numbskulls' remark, Stingmon and Exveemon complied by reverting to their Rookie forms.  Setomon tried to do the same, but he was visibly struggling to do so.

"What, is it your first time?" asked Piximon.

"Yeah…" said Setomon.  "But I don't need help or anything."

"My eye.  But if you think you can manage, then fine.  Just don't send any of that dog-breath my way."

"Hey where are we headed, Piximon?" asked Veemon.

"I thought it was about time you two did a little training."

"Training?" Wormmon and Veemon asked in unison.

"Yeah.  You guys might think you're the best, but that little encounter proves you've got a long way to go."

"Oh come on," said Veemon.  "That guy had to be an Ultimate at the very least.  Maybe even a Mega."

"That's no excuse.  I've got high expectations of both of you.  By the time we're done you'll be able to tear a guy like that apart."

"But we've got important work to do," said Wormmon.

"It's nothing we can't take care of later," said Veemon.  "Besides, I'd like to be a lot stronger before having to face something like Mephismon again."

"You don't understand.  I've got to get back."

"What is this pressing business of yours?" asked Piximon.

"It's, umm…"

"What is it?" asked Veemon.

"Well, Veemon, I hope you don't take this the wrong way.  A few years ago, I met up with Gennai and he, um, look just forget it.  You probably wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't understand?" asked Veemon.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, it's just really complicated."

"Tell me anyway.  I'll understand just fine."

"Okay," Wormmon said with a sigh.  "Gennai approached me and invited me to be a sort of agent for the Guardians.  I wanted to help, so I agreed.  I never told you before because they swore me to secrecy.  Anyway, I was contacted a few days ago and told to be very watchful of anything…suspicious.  This Mephismon certainly falls under that category."

"And so you just need to report to him?" asked Veemon.  "It sounds simple enough."

"What else were you told?" asked Piximon.

"Apparently those Vanguard guys who were working with the virus are up to something and they need me to keep an eye out for them, even among our friends.  Gennai thinks there's a traitor in our ranks, but so far it's only a suspicion."

"So why didn't they ever ask me to join?" asked Veemon.  "Did they think _I was the traitor?"_

"Of course not!  They just needed to keep things really secret."

"Come on!  I've done more than my share for them in the past.  They should know by no that I'd be happy to…oh I get it."

"I'm sure they wanted to keep things as small as possible," said Wormmon.  "The fewer agents they have the less chance there is of a security breach."

"Or maybe they just think I'm too stupid to keep my mouth shut," Veemon said bitterly.

There was an awkward silence.  Even Setomon could tell something was amiss.

"Um…maybe we can just go meet Gennai later," said Piximon.

"Let's just head for Sun Coast City," said Wormmon.  "There's another agent there who I can pass our information on to."

"I bet he's a smart one," muttered Veemon.

There was another long, awkward pause.

"So what about me?" Setomon finally asked.

"Where are you headed?"

"West."

"West?"

"Yeah, west."

"Then I guess I'll just drop you off at Sun Coast," Piximon replied.  "You were heading that way anyway and you look like you could use a couple days of rest in a nice place.  Be sure to take a bath while you're there and maybe take a few minutes to learn about mouthwash."

"Thanks, pops.  I think."

"You know I did just shorten your trip.  It would've taken you weeks to make it the rest of the way across Server."

"You mean you're taking me all the way to the west coast?"

"You catch on quick.  I just hope you know where you're going from there."

Setomon didn't respond.  Instead he just lay down with his chin resting on his front paws.  Veemon meanwhile was looking quite put-off and had his back turned to the others.  Wormmon wanted to say something to reassure his friend but he wasn't sure of what.  Piximon was left to watch the sky and the ground as it swiftly passed them by.

As the small group made their way across Server, life in the human world continued uninterrupted.  It was a cool mid-morning in New York.  The sounds of city life, from the flocks of pigeons to the honking of car horns to the low murmur of countless people, were all filtered out and replaced by easy-listening music in a tiny office operated by a counselor of sorts.  The secretary sat in the empty waiting room gabbing on the phone while behind the door labeled "Dr. Lewis" a session was taking place.

"Good morning you two," said Dr. Anthony Lewis, a pale man with a rapidly receding hairline, a slender frame and an overly calm voice.  "Before we begin I'd like to again remind you how happy I am that you recognized the need to work out any issues you may face before entering into the institution of marriage.  I find myself counseling many couples who could have been saved a great deal of heartbreak had they merely been prepared for the challenges of marriage beforehand.  Now then, we did some very nice work last week.  Why don't you tell me how things have been going?"

"Well, it's been okay," said Jack who, along with his fiancée, sat on the couch across from the doctor.  "But sometimes I still get the feeling—"

"I think everything has been going just great," said Amber.

"Well that's excellent Amber.  But what were you going to say, Jacob?"

"I was going to say that she always—"

"Now Jacob," said Dr. Lewis, "what did we say about the words 'always' and 'never'?"

"Well, YOU said that they put labels on people."

"So how would you rephrase that sentence?"

Jack let out an audible sigh.  "I think—"

"Jacob…"

"I FEEL that Amber…often interrupts me when I am speaking, and I…feel…that this is, er, may be one of the sources of our communication difficulties."

"Very good, Jacob."

"It's Jack by the way."

"How do you feel about what Jacob has just said, Amber?"

"Well I feel that the problem—"

"Ooh.  Ouch," said Dr. Lewis.

"I feel that the issue lies in his lack of confidence, and if he were more assertive I might be less prone to interrupt him.  Of course, I think he's making a big deal out of nothing."

"Now Amber, we shouldn't say that what Jacob feels is 'nothing.'  If we do that we run the risk of belittling his emotions, and that would not benefit any of us."

"It's, um, still Jack."

"Oh of course, Dr. Lewis," said Amber, "and I am very sorry."

"That's good, Amber.  Jacob?"

"Huh?  Oh.  Yeah.  I recognize and accept your apology, Amber."

"Thank you, sweetie."

"Now don't we feel refreshed after that?"

"Yes, Dr. Lewis," the other two said.

"Now reviewing the notes from last time, I am led to ask if you are still finding it difficult to express your love for one another physically."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Jacob, is there some reason you are uncomfortable with this topic of discussion?"

"No, Dr. Lewis."

"Because if you suffer from impotence, it is—"

"What?!  No!"

"Now Jacob, there is no need to become defensive.  This is a supportive, nurturing environment where we may feel free to discuss our feelings and maladies openly."

Jack took a deep breath and released it.  "No, I do not have a problem in that area.  In fact, the problem is that Amber is never—"

Dr. Lewis cleared his throat.

"Amber is INFREQUENTLY 'in the mood' as of late."

"I see.  And why do you suppose this is, Amber?"

"I don't know what he's talking about.  I've made myself available a number of times this past week."

"When?" asked Jack.

"Please remain calm, Jacob."

"I think it's just that he hasn't picked up on any of the signals I've been sending."

"I see.  Jacob, why do you feel you have been unreceptive to Amber's advances?"

"What advances?  You'd need a microscope to pick up on the 'signals' she's talking about."

"So you feel the issue lies not in your own perception, but in her communication of her feelings."

"Well, Jack, you'd have to be pretty dense to miss out on some of the signals I've been giving you."

"Amber, ouch.  Ouch, ouch, ouch."

"Like what?!"

"Jacob, please…"

"Like when I asked you if you wanted to go out for Chinese food!"

"Please.  Could we just settle down?"

"Chinese food?!"

"Could we—"

"Yeah!  Chinese food!  Don't you remember the first time we made love we'd just come back from Hop Singh's?"

"And THAT'S a signal?!"

"Now just calm down you two, just calm down.  It's obvious that we have a lot of work to do here, but as I see it the big issue we must work on is communication.  Now I want you two to apply some of the techniques I mentioned earlier outside of the sessions, but for now we'll do some role-playing."

"Role playing?" asked Jack.

"Yes.  It's a very effective method that allows us to better understand one another and has proven highly effective in building communication skills."

"That's fascinating, Dr. Lewis," said Amber.  "Please go on."

"Well very simply, pretending to be one another helps us to see the world through each others eyes.  We can then begin to understand one another and build bridges of communication.  And as we all know, communication is the glue for the foundation of a good marriage."

Jack could hardly keep from laughing out loud at that amazingly mixed metaphor.

At that same time it was late at night in Yokohama.  It had rained earlier in the day and the streets were still covered in large puddles just waiting to be splashed onto unsuspecting pedestrians.  There were still many clouds in the sky, but the eternal light of the city made them difficult to see.  Izzy watched all of this through the window in his apartment living room.  The phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked upon picking it up.

"Hi honey!  It's me."

"Hey there Misaki.  Where are you?  It's pretty late."

"I know and I am really, really sorry.  I should have called earlier but had to help out this customer and then the—"

"Honey, it's alright.  I understand," Izzy said sympathetically.  He remembered how it was working at one of those electronics stores.

"Anyway it looks like I have to cover the graveyard shift because the girl who was supposed to do it can't make it.  Again, I'm so, so sorry."

"It's alright.  I'll just see you when you get back."

"You promise me you'll eat dinner tonight!  I know how you blow it off when someone's not around to cook for you."

"I'll try to remember.  I just get so wrapped up in my work sometimes."

"Alright, but if I get home at two o'clock and you're hungry, that's too bad."

Izzy laughed.  "Okay sweetheart.  Maybe I'll pick up a pizza or something."

"Don't forget to leave me a slice."

"I won't.  Talk to you later, alright?"

"Hugs and kisses."

"Right back at you."

The line clicked off and Izzy hung up the phone.  He leaned back in the stool on which he sat next to the kitchen counter and stretched his arms.  Just then his calico cat jumped up onto the counter in front of him.

"Well it looks like we're on our own tonight," he said to the cat.  "Don't let me forget to eat or Misaki's going to kill me."

He stepped off the stool and brushed his shaggy red hair out of his eyes.  He was looking pretty casual today in his T-shirt and jeans.  He always changed into something more comfortable after a really brutal day at the office, and it had certainly been one of those.  Izzy wandered over to the couch—which was like all the furniture in that it was nice but a little old—with the cat bounding after him across the furniture.  He sat down and reached for the remote on the coffee table, but paused as he saw his laptop sitting there next to it.

"What do you think," he asked of the cat, "TV or something a little more…interactive?"

The cat just ignored his question and wandered off to explore the mysteries of the sock drawer.

"Thanks for the help!" he called after it.

Izzy quickly decided to forego watching television and opened up his state-of-the-art laptop, a new ultra-light design with so much power that even turning the thing on got Izzy drooling.  But even as he watched it booting up he began to think about what Yolei had told him about a few days earlier.  He'd be lying if he said it didn't have him concerned.  He had no idea who this "Amadeus" was, but something about him just didn't sit well.  Izzy wasn't entirely sure what the man had wanted him to do, but even if he did he wouldn't have done it.  He wasn't about to be pushed around.

Izzy went through the same motions he always went through.  He checked his e-mail, looked at a few stock prices, took a few minutes to check over things he'd been doing at work.  It was all very mundane until he finally decided to look at some very old files.

"Here we go…" he said as he opened up a folder marked "D-World."

Gigabytes upon gigabytes of files appeared before him.  Some were his own theories written down, others were communiqués with other DigiDestined from all over the world, and still others were files from the digimon analyzer he'd received from Gennai long ago.  Then of course there were the mountains of raw data and the copious research files and mysterious programs he'd "acquired" from the Hypnos database while he and his friends were stuck in that time warp.  One of these files in particular had vexed him ever since, and so he opened it up again.  He sat and watched for a moment as the screen displayed what he had originally taken to be a diagram of a gravity well of some kind, but after years of learning more and more about programming he had changed his mind about what exactly it was a number of times.

"Juggernaut…" he whispered to himself.  "What are you?"

He was presently unsure of what the program was.  Of course it didn't help that it was incomplete because his old hard drive couldn't store the entire thing.  Still he'd been able to reconstruct a great deal of it, but doing so only left him with more riddles.  The thing was a mystery, but that was what had allowed it to hold his interest for so long.

"One of these days," he said to the computer screen.  "I'll figure you out.  It's just a matter of time."

[Don't forget to check out the Setomon pic.]


	13. The Bombing at Snowy Ridge

[Here's the next chapter, and it will be the last one I put out before I head off to college on the other side of the country.  I really don't expect any problems with my internet connection, but you never know.  Also, it'll probably take me a little longer to get future chapters out, but as long as I keep getting reviews I won't stop.  Actually, scratch that.  I'll keep going even if I don't get any more reviews ever.  But they are nice, and are pretty conducive to the creative process (hint hint).  But enough of that.  You're here for something completely different.  And thus, I give you chapter 13.]

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Day 23 

Again the blinding light appeared before Angemon's eyes as he stepped through the gateway to that most hallowed domain.  Only minutes after being awakened very early in the morning by a HolyKnightmon, he was entering into Lucemon's chambers for the second time.  It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the opportunity, but he would have liked it more if Lucemon had better timing.

As the light faded he once again stood in that chamber with the great windows looking out onto the city and the night sky.  It was a sight few could appreciate.

"Lord Lucemon?  I'm here."

Angemon stepped forward.  There was the great tree in the center of the room again, standing proud and tall and almost giving off its own light.  Lucemon was nowhere to be found.

"Anybody home?"

Silence.  Angemon was beginning to suspect that Lucemon enjoyed playing with his visitors.  Angemon continued looking about.  He quickly spotted a pile of books on the steps, many of which looked very old indeed.  Some were open, and it was one of these that caught his interest.  On top of it sat one of Lucemon's feathers, the point wet with ink.  Upon closer examination, the book was obviously still being written.

"Art thou prepared?"

Angemon spun around, dropping the pen and the book.  There was Lucemon, right behind him.

"Thou art anxious, my child," Lucemon said with a quasi-smile.

"You merely startled me, sir.  And it is quite early."

"Is it?  Time hath lost all meaning for those who neither sleep nor age.  I hope my messenger didst not awaken thee from a sweet slumber."

"As a matter of fact, he did.  But I don't mind.  It was worth it for this opportunity."

"I see.  Now then, willst thou answer?"

"Answer?"

"Art thou prepared?" Lucemon reiterated.

"For what, my lord?"

"To tell me if these be windows or walls."

Angemon quickly thought back to his last conversation and recalled his first question of Lucemon.

"I guess I haven't given it any more thought.  I'm sorry, but I still don't know."

"Then thou shall answer in thine own time.  It matters not."

"I take it you've decided to hear more of my request."

"Thy assumption is accurate…to a degree."

"To a degree?  What do you mean?"

"Tell me.  Is it thy intention to face the Destroyer?"

"Yes.  Omnimon and the Guardians will fight, and so must I."

"Even though thou hast very little knowledge of the nature of the beast?"

"That's why we're trying to learn as much as we can.  But no matter what, it must be stopped before it can carry out its schemes."

"But thou art lacking in knowledge of what its schemes may be as well."

"Judging from his brothers, I doubt anything good can come from letting it live."

"But the beast's life rests not in thy hands."

"I'm sorry, but why am I here?"

Lucemon sighed and thought for a few moments.  "Sit down, my child."

Angemon did just that, sitting on one of the steps.  Lucemon sat cross-legged across from him.

"Tell me, Angemon.  How old is this world?"

"How old?  I don't know.  I guess it's about a thousand years.  That's what I've heard."

"I see…"

"Why?  Is something wrong?"

"Willst thou listen to a tale, Angemon?"

"Of course."

"There were two digimon, an Angemon and a Devimon.  They were complete opposites in every way.  The Angemon lived to enjoy the sweetness of the sunshine, to dwell in the warmth of love and friendship, and to see the wonders of creation all around him.

"But the Devimon was very different.  His heart was evil and cruel, and he desired only to tear down life and smash all that was good.  He believed solely in the power of destruction.

"Because they were so different, these two always fought.  Angemon wanted nothing more than to resolve the situation peacefully, but Devimon would hear nothing of it.  Devimon wanted only to destroy those things that gave Angemon pleasure, but he could not do it alone.  And so he set about creating an entire race of evil beings who thought just like he did.  They too sought to destroy.  Angemon could not simply give into those monsters, but none would listen to his pleas.  Finally he was left with no alternative but to strike back.  He fought them with all his might, taking many, many lives in the process.  Canst thou tell me what this story means?"

"What it means?  Well…I guess that in the end, Devimon and Angemon weren't as different as they thought.  Devimon was willing to create life in order to take it away, and Angemon was willing to take life away in order to safeguard the lives of others."

"Then how is it that we separate good and evil?"

"I suppose the only way to tell…would be the intentions of those involved."

Lucemon smiled again, in his way.  "That is precisely how I perceive it to be."

"Why did you tell me that story, my lord?"

"Because that is how it was in the first age.  For one thousand years, vaccine and virus digimon fought ceaselessly.  Thy ancestors fought alongside Protomon when he was still amongst us."

"A thousand years?"

"'Tis true.  Digimon hath lived twice as long as thou believed, and our world came far before us.  But only this past age hath been one of order."

"How did things change?"

"I was born not long before that time.  Protomon himself created and reared me.  He knew that age was ending, and thus I was made to be neither a force for creation nor destruction, but a new force that would bring stability and order.  I was to be a preserver, as were the new race of digimon who were neither vaccine nor virus, but data.  When Protomon died, the balance of power was remade; now it was the forces of creation, destruction, and preservation that weighed on each other.

"Over time, the three types of digimon intermingled, and the titles of data, virus, and vaccine have lost nearly all meaning.  With a digimon's nature no longer decided by its type, the world has grown more civil, if more complex.  Now thy enemies may pose as friends, but thou mayst find friends amongst enemies."

"I'd hate to be rude, Lord Lucemon, but I don't think there's a whole lot of time left.  Any day now the Destroyer could make his move.  For all I know it could have already happened.  We need to know if you and your order will help us in this fight."

"Mine eyes have seen the lives of more digimon than thou dost know of all taken at once by beasts far less dangerous than the Destroyer.  I have watched helplessly as entire continents were swallowed by the boiling seas.  I have seen existence itself nearly ended by battles more horrible than thou canst dream of.  I swore to Protomon as he lay dying that I would never allow such things to transpire again."

"Then you will aid us?"

"Angemon…thou art too eager to die."

"What?"

"There was another like thee in that age.  He was a Seraphimon of unmatched valor and skill, and among Protomon's favorite sons.  But he knew these things very well, and was prideful.  He dared lead an assault upon our enemy's chief stronghold against Protomon's will.  Many of Seraphimon's warriors died, but still he fought on.  Soon he alone was left, his hands stained with their blood and his mind consumed by hatred for the enemy that had killed them.  When he was struck down he was not even given the rest of death.  Instead he was condemned to a far worse fate.  His body remained, a horrible perversion of its former self, in a state of eternal un-death.  His hate-filled soul burned with the essence of evil, and he was cursed to fight alongside those who had killed his troops and him.  That was how the Destroyer came to be."

"You mean he was once a good guy?"

"Indeed, and an angel of the highest breed no less.  That is the power of those you would seek out to make war upon."

"I had no idea our enemies could do that.  I feel a little sorry for him."

"No doubt thy perception of this threat has altered now, but I warn thee: as strong and good as his body was in life was nothing compared to the Destroyer's new dark powers and evil heart.  All that was once his mind is gone now, and he gladly serves the cravings of evil."

"That is why we need your help.  Even with Omnimon on our side, I'm not sure if we can beat the Destroyer.  We need you and the others here."

"Thou hast failed to understand.  When I didst see Protomon slay the Destroyer so long ago, I still felt pity for him, even knowing all the terror he had brought.  I have no desire to see death again, least of all among my own children here.  I couldst never expose them to such a foe."

Angemon was silent for a moment.  Then he slowly stood with a frustrated look on his face.  "I think I finally get you, Lucemon.  This tower, this chamber…you're just hiding here from all the ugliness that's out there.  You just don't want to see what's really going on!  Well I do, and that's because I want to help!  I want to be out there again helping to stop needless deaths!  It may not be perfect, but it's better than running from it!"  After such a rare outburst, Angemon was shaken, but he refused to show it.  So he turned and quickly stormed out of the room without another word.  Lucemon remained still for some time after that.

The western city of Snowy Ridge, a heavily industrialized metropolis in the heart of Baihumon's mountain range, was caught in that short, sweet twilight between night and day.  Steam and smoke poured from the many factories and homes throughout the city, masking the stars overhead from view.  All was calm and quiet until a flash of light and a thunderous sound exploded from one of the city's many factories.  The blast shook the surrounding buildings and quickly spread flames in all directions.

"There she is!" shouted a voice from within the burning building.

Shots rang out inside the factory but no return fire was heard.  Several seconds later a figure popped out what had once been a wall of iron and was presently a wall of fire.  The figure was a female Biyomon with singed feathers.  After she escaped from the building she hit the ground running at top speed, the dark silhouettes of three Mekanorimon in the fire and rubble behind her.

"Twin Beam!" shouted the Mekanorimon as they all fired at once.

Biyomon looked over her shoulder just in time to see the approaching beams.  She hit the ground hard and the beams passed right over her head.  Once the attacks had passed her by she shot up again and took off running down the street.  The Mekanorimon powered up their thrusters and took off in hot pursuit.  Seeing this over her shoulder, Biyomon quickly turned off into a narrow alleyway, jumping boxes and dodging old pipe fittings as she went.  The three Mekanorimon stopped for a moment at the entrance, but then two took flight and the other charged straight ahead, plowing through the walls of both of the enclosing buildings.

"Uh-oh!" said Biyomon.  "I don't think these guys are the type to give up!"

She kept on running, hoping her pursuer would be slowed enough for her to escape.  But then one of the other two Mekanorimon appeared at the far end of the alley while the one behind her had stopped.

"Twin Beam!" shouted the two machine digimon.

Biyomon leaned back against the wall as hard as she could and shut her eyes tight.  She felt the intense heat of the beams go right by her, very nearly scorching her.  But fortunately she wasn't hurt and the attacks struck the Mekanorimon instead, knocking them both out of the pursuit for the time being.  Seeing an opportunity, Biyomon took flight and headed back out onto the open streets.  She needed to find a way out, but options were limited and there was still another Mekanorimon out there.  Then she heard a sound.

It was a long, loud whistle coming from nearby.  It was a sound that instantly gave Biyomon an idea.

"Sorry, boys!" she shouted back.  "I've got a train to catch."

Biyomon took off again, heading down another street as fast as she could.  It was late so there was no one around.  It seemed a fog had rolled in from the lake, and it was now stained yellow by the streetlights.  She ran as fast as she could, unwilling to fly for the great risk of detection.  Huffing and puffing with each breath, she pushed on.  Again the whistle sounded.

"Not…much time…" she wheezed to herself.

She kept on running and finally made it to the bridge.  She ran up onto it, seeing the train tracks below and the Trailmon coming from the station toward her.

"Perfect timing."

"Halt!" a loud, mechanical voice ordered.

The third Mekanorimon appeared overhead, descending onto the bridge with the help of his boosters.  He stood with weapons armed and ready.

"Sorry, hotshot," she said with a smile.  "I don't have time to hang out with you right now."

"Twin Beam!"

Biyomon jumped over the railing just as the Trailmon passed underneath the bridge.  She hit the roof and rolled to a stop.  She looked back toward Mekanorimon as he started to recede into the night.  But her joy was cut short when she saw Mekanorimon also go over the rail and land atop the Trailmon.

"That's just great…"

"Surrender now or be destroyed!"

Biyomon didn't move.  Instead she stood ready to jump at a moment's notice, studying Mekanorimon's movements.

"This is your final warning.  You will comply immediately or you will be disposed of."

"Dispose this!  Spiral Twister!"

Biyomon fired her trademark attack at Mekanorimon's eye.  The attack hit dead-on, scrambling the machine's sensors at least for the time being.  Mekanorimon wasted no time in returning fire, but his attacks missed wildly, even raking across the Trailmon on which they stood.  Biyomon decided to make a break for it and began running toward the head of the train.  Mekanorimon did his best to follow and attack at the same time, but was not doing well in regard to either.  Biyomon thought she was home free, until a lucky shot hit the roof off her right side, causing an explosion which and propelled her over the side.  But she caught a lucky break, or rather a lucky break caught her, when the ring around her left leg snagged a piece of twisted metal on the side of the train.

As Biyomon hung upside down, still dazed from the explosion, Mekanorimon approached and looked down on her from above.

"Eliminating target.  Twin—"

Wham!  Mekanorimon never got to finish, as the train passed under another bridge at just that moment and Mekanorimon was nowhere near short enough to pass on through.  The last Biyomon saw of him, he was swept away in one chaotic collision.  She managed to recover shortly and got back atop the train.

She waited until it passed near the docks and then jumped off, slowing her descent with her wings.  It was quiet down at the docks, but still the same shade of yellow as everything else in that city.  She looked around swiftly, spying the dock she was looking for down a little way.  She moved out as quickly and as quietly as she could, trying to avoid the light when possible.  She wasn't about to assume she was home free yet.

As she reached dock 12, she hid behind a pile of boxes and took one last look around to make sure all was quiet.  Nothing moved, so she started to run toward the end of the pier.  She just hoped her ride was there.

"Halt!"

"Not again!"

Sure enough, the two Mekanorimon from earlier had reappeared, suffering only moderate damage from shooting one another.  They came in fast from the city, so Biyomon could only run toward where her ride was supposed to be waiting.  As she ran though, she knew she wouldn't make it before they overtook her.  Already they were half way to her relative to where they began.  They continued to draw closer and closer no matter how fast she ran.  She knew she couldn't make it, but something inside her pushed her to keep going.  It was a vain hope, perhaps, but it was still hope.  And for that one moment, it was all she had.

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

Biyomon's eyes shot open as she saw three projectiles rise up from the water, soar through the air, and then burst open to reveal their deadly payloads.  The missiles exploded in a line in front of the Mekanorimon.  Her ride had arrived.

"Ikkakumon!" she shouted as she ran toward where the missiles came from.

"Hurry up!  We've gotta move!"

"Right!"

With one final charge, Biyomon jumped over the edge and fell right onto Ikkakumon's waiting back.

"You're early," said the enormous walrus-like beast as he pulled out into the water and tried to put as much distance between himself and the city as he could.

"Figured I'd check out ahead of schedule."

"Did you succeed?"

"I don't know.  I had to set the bomb off early in order to save my skin.  I'm pretty sure I got most of it, though."

"Well at least you made it out okay."

"Don't count your digieggs before they hatch.  We've still got to keep an eye out."

"Don't worry.  We'll lie low for a little while and then get out of the quadrant."

"Good plan.  We should also try to find Omnimon again.  I still say this is something he needs to be told of."

"He's not the easiest guy to find these days, you know.  I haven't felt right since he left the west."

"In any case, we've got to make sure these guys don't get away with any more of this kind of thing.  One little bomb won't make much of a difference.  We have to stop them altogether somehow."

"I bet once the cops arrive to investigate the bombing the truth of the matter will come out and our job will be taken care of."

"We should be so lucky."

Back in the east, Mephismon was hot on Piximon's trail.  Running over the plains with incredible speed, he was led by his sense of smell.

"No one gets away from me," he growled.

He felt the sun on his back rise from beneath the horizon.  His powerful legs kept him moving over the grassy fields at a speed only marginally less than Piximon himself could move.  The only difficult aspect was keeping track of the scent, which had been greatly masked by Piximon's preferred method of travel.

"As soon as I find that little insect I'll tear off his limbs and swallow him alive!"

With every mile that fell away beneath his feet, Mephismon's anger toward the intrusive teacher grew.  Pretty soon he was ready to completely boil over.  But then, he felt a strong, sharp pain in his head.

"Aah!"

He stumbled and fell.  He immediately grabbed his head and shut his eyes tight.  There was a deep throbbing pain within his mind.  A voice called out to him then, and he began to receive a vision.

"I have seen your progress, my servant," said the raspy, venomous voice of the Destroyer.  "I am not impressed…"

"Master, please!"

In his mind's eye, he saw the chamber where he met with the Destroyer, but everything he saw was bathed in a blood-red color.

"Cyberdramon, Exveemon, and Stingmon escaped your wrath.  This is very disappointing."

"But master, I have already killed half a dozen others.  Exveemon and Stingmon shall follow soon enough."

"I have another task for you first."

"Of course.  What do you need of me?"

"The one you fought, the Setomon, is of interest to me.  Even now he is in Sun Coast City.  See to it that he comes to me."

"But master, that beast has the stench of humans about him.  He must be killed."

"You are NOT to harm him.  But if it's blood you need, feel free to kill anyone else you run across."

"Very well.  I won't harm the animal."

The Destroyer gave a small, pleased laugh.

"_By blood and soul I bind thee._

_By thy crimson hands our pact is sealed._

_Through life and death and in every age_

_Thy power is ever mine to wield._"

After one last surge of pain, Mephismon found his head beginning to clear.  The vision faded from his mind's eye and the voice disappeared.

But even as Mephismon lay there, things in the real world held a very different.  TK fidgeted in his chair, adjusted and readjusted his black necktie, dabbed his forehead with his napkin, smoothed his dark blue dress shirt and black slacks, and did basically everything else he could think of as he waited.  To say he looked nervous is to say that the Pacific Ocean is moist.

"Relax, man," said his older brother from behind him.

"Matt!" said TK, jumping up from his chair in the very fancy restaurant.  "Who's watching the door?!"

"Dad is, remember?" Matt asked with that old smirk of his.  He was likewise dressed up and his now short hair was meticulously combed back.  Now his little brother was the one with the wild, bushy hair.

"Oh yeah," said TK, taking a few deep breaths.

"I keep telling you to relax.  Jeez, I've never seen you this jittery."

"I think I'm within my rights."

"Look, it's no big deal."

"That's easy for you to say.  You've already done this."

"Right, so I know what I'm talking about.  Although I didn't do it anywhere nearly this fancy.  Man this place is pricey.  Have you two even been to this place before?"

"No, but I want everything to just be so perfect and romantic and crap."

"Nicely put," he said with a chuckle.

"Whatever.  I mean, this needs to be just right, you know?  If even the slightest thing goes wrong there's no telling—"

Matt placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and looked him right in the eyes.  "Listen to me, Takeru."

TK knew to pay very close attention to what was about to be said, given the rare use of his full name.

"This is going to be the best night of your life.  Nothing is going to wrong.  And even if it does it won't matter.  The only way you'll screw up is if you make yourself too nervous to enjoy it."

TK was quiet for a second.  "But what—"

"Shh!"

"But—"

"Shh!  You're thinking about it too much.  Just take a deep breath and hold it until I tell you to release."

TK closed his eyes and took in a very big breath and held it.

"Good," said Matt.  "I'm going to go get some coffee.  Just hold that until I get back"

TK released his breath in a laugh.

"There.  Feel better?"

"Yeah," said TK, still laughing a little.

"Alright, now I'd better get going."  He motioned toward the door where Mr. Ishida—with his now aged face highlighted by gray sideburns—was giving his sons the thumbs-up.

"She's here?" asked TK, instantly losing all control of his sweat glands.

"You want me to calm you down like I do with Tai?"

"Uh, no thanks," said TK, wanting to avoid a very hard punch to the face and/or gut.

"Alright," Matt said with another chuckle.

"Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No prob.  Good luck, bro."

As Matt quickly receded into the shadows, TK stood next to the small table with its white tablecloth and candles.  Kari came in through the front door a moment later, looking as radiant as ever.  She wore a red, sleeveless, low-cut blouse and a beautiful mottled-pink skirt with high heels, a small red purse and a nearly transparent pink wrap.  Judging from her hair, she must have been to the salon earlier in the day.

"Wow…" TK gasped.

Kari quickly scanned over the restaurant before she spied TK.  She smiled and waved.  TK felt his heart skip a beat and his legs turned to gelatin.  He had to put his hand on the table and stiffen his arm just to keep from falling on his face.  Kari walked up with a tender smile on her face.

"Wow, TK!  This place is so incredibly romantic; how can you afford this?"

"Are you kidding?"  His voice cracked in a way it hadn't done since puberty.  "It's no, uh, problem…for you…the woman I love more than life itself.  Um, seat?  Uh, sit…DOWN!  I mean, sit down.  Seat?  You would like…me…to sit you?"

Matt and his dad both winced over the scene from where they sat near the door.

"Are you feeling alright, TK?"

TK cleared his throat.  "Um, yeah.  I'm good.  How are you?"

"I'm good."

"You look good.  I mean, of course you look good.  You look great.  Fantastic!"

She giggled.  "Well you look good too."

"Oh really?" he asked with an exaggerated expression and scratched the back of his head.  "I just threw this on.  Not that I didn't put any thought into it.  No.  Actually I've been picking these clothes all day!  All week, even!"

"Right… So are we allowed to sit?"

"Yeah!  Sit…sounds good.  Oh!"  TK quickly pulled Kari's chair out for her.

Kari wore a surprised and pleased look as she sat down and TK helped her push her chair back in.  Then he just stood there awkwardly.

"You can sit too."

"Right!"  TK shot around the table and took his seat, hitting his knee on the way down.

"Oh TK!  Are you alright?"

"Me?  I'm good.  I'm just fine."  He actually said this through clenched teeth.  It had hurt more than it looked like.

"So what do you think you want?" she asked as she picked up the menu.

"Want?"

"For dinner?"

"Oh!  Of course!  Food!  We're here for food!  Food for eating!  It's a restaurant, of course.  They have food."

"Okay TK.  That does it.  What is the matter with you tonight?"

"Matter?  What could be the matter?  There's nothing the matter."

"I haven't seen even Davis act this goofy.  Did you get hit on the head today or something?"

TK let out a deep sigh.  He knew the jig was up.  That remark about Davis made that much perfectly clear.  "Okay.  I really wanted to save this until later on, but it's making me a nervous wreck."

TK slid out of his chair and his hand went into his pocket to retrieve the prize within.  He kneeled before Kari, slightly pained by the injury he'd incurred only seconds earlier, and sighed again.  "You know, Kari, since I first decided to do this, I thought it would be the hardest thing I'd ever have to do in my entire life.  I nearly talked myself out of it altogether a few times."

"TK…"

"Let me finish.  But now that I'm kneeling here before you…I realize that there's nothing easier.  And it's so easy because it's you.  I've never wanted anything more than I want this.  There is nothing on Earth that could keep me from doing this."

"TK, I—"

TK pulled the small box from his pocket and popped it open to reveal the diamond ring inside.  "Kari, will you marry me?"

A stunned silence fell over the surrounding tables, among which no one could avoid eavesdropping on the scene.  Kari was flabbergasted.  With her mouth frozen open and her hand upon her chest she couldn't even make a sound.  This went on for what seemed like an eternity but was in fact more like a few seconds.

"Kari?  My leg is starting to cramp up…"

"Oh!  I'm sorry!"  Kari quickly reached down to help TK up, but he lost his balance and instead of Kari helping him up, TK helped her down to the floor.  They tumbled to the ground with Kari bumping her head and TK twisting his back.

"Ow…" said Kari as she rubbed her forehead.

"Oh man did that suck," said TK, rubbing his now tender spine.

Kari began to laugh and then TK followed suit.  A number of people in the nearby tables also laughed, but they tried to hide it.  TK rose to his knees and offered his hand to Kari.  She placed her right hand in his and placed her left on top.  TK placed his left hand on top of hers and they looked at one another.  They looked at one another, staring deeply into each others' eyes.  TK had never been so aware of Kari's strangely beautiful eyes, the color of cherry wood, or her perfect, soft skin and silky, chestnut hair.  She was so beautiful.  Everything was so beautiful.  For that one moment, everything in life was completely perfect.  He had no doubt of her answer.

"Well?" he whispered expectantly.

Kari smiled back at him, but there was something not right in that smile.  Something about it was fake, just like the one she'd worn when they were alone together in the woods after the fight with NightmareOmnimon; just like the one she'd worn the first time she broke his heart.  She looked down at the carpet.

"TK…I'm sorry."


	14. Seeing Double

[Here I am with the next chapter, hot off the presses.  It's my first edition from college, but the quality should only improve.  So enjoy and review…]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A little over an hour after watching Kari reject TK's proposal, Matt and his father made there way into the seventh bar that night.  They hadn't been drinking; rather they had been looking for TK, who disappeared after Kari left.

"Do you see him?" asked Mr. Ishida.

"Not yet," said Matt.  "Wait!  At the bar!"

Both men looked over to the center barstool where they saw TK, his hair mussed and his fancy clothes tousled.  He looked very alone with the low lighting and the baseball game playing on the nearby TV.

"That's him alright," said Matt.

Mr. Ishida lit up a cigarette; it felt appropriate at the moment.  The two of them slowly made their way around the other patrons in their various stages of intoxication.  They reached the bar itself soon enough and took their seats on either side of TK.  He was looking down at his hands, not even seeming to notice their arrival.

"Hey son."

"Dad?" asked TK, suddenly snapping back to reality.

"And me," said Matt.

"So I guess you found me."

"Yeah."

"And you know what happened."

"Um…yeah."

"Sorry son."

"You need a drink, bro?"

"Sure."

"I think we could all use one," said Mr. Ishida.

Matt called out for three shots of vodka and the bartender delivered them a few seconds later.  Matt and his dad both held theirs but TK downed his drink instantly and signaled for another.

"So what happened?" asked Matt.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," said Mr. Ishida.

"No, no.  It's okay," said TK.  "Basically, she took one look at me and said 'no.'"

TK downed another shot.

"Take it easy on those, bro."

"I'll be fine."

"It's not you I'm worried about.  You're eating a hole in my wallet."

"Don't get smart, Matt," said Mr. Ishida.

"Right.  Probably not the time.  But I bet you could use that punch now, right?"

"I don't care," said TK, looking down at his empty shot glass.

"Don't worry son," said Mr. Ishida.  "You'd be surprised how often this exact thing happens.  I know a few guys who had to pop the question over five times.  Even I had to ask your mother twice before she…"

Matt started shaking his head at his father.

"Okay, that's bad example," Mr. Ishida continued.  "The point is you can't let this get you down."

"Maybe you should just give her a little space right now," said Matt.

"We live together."

"Oh right.  That makes it a little harder."

"I know," said Mr. Ishida.  "Stay later at the office.  Visit me a little more.  Once a little time goes by, and when it feels right you can ask again."

"Marriage advice, dad?  Really?" asked Matt.

"Alright, forget all that," said Mr. Ishida.  "First of all, what exactly did she say?"

TK took another drink.  "She said she just wasn't ready yet.  She said she'd want to wait until we were both a little older or something."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Matt.  "That's the kind of response you'd get if she was having a bad night, caused by…say…your pathetic performance."

"Don't forget the restaurant itself," said Mr. Ishida.  "I don't see how she could have been comfortable there.  I know I sure wasn't."

"Dad's right.  Next time just don't lay it on so thick.  Just go someplace where you're both comfortable, don't get all nervous and clumsy, and don't make any stupid speeches.  Just be yourself and you'll do fine."

"Didn't you propose to Sora in Hawaii with fireworks overhead?" asked TK.

"Well that was a different case.  Sora really falls for that kind of stuff, but Kari likes things simple and honest."

"You really think so?"

"Totally!"

"Dad?"

"Sounds like the way to go, son."

TK set his drink down and stood up with renewed vigor.  "All right, I'll do it!"

"Not yet," said Matt.

"Huh?"

"Wait a week, and make sure you make her feel special.  Remind her how great you are together.  Then pop the question again and you'll get the answer you want without a doubt."

"Okay!  Thanks Matt.  Thanks dad."

"No prob, bro."

"TK?" asked Mr. Ishida.

"Yeah dad?"

"I'm very proud of you, son."

"Thanks, dad."

But while things were looking up for TK, the situation was as dire as ever in the Digital World.  In spite of the bright, sparsely-clouded day, things at the Dragon Gate were troubled.

"So who exactly is this guy we're supposed to be going up against?" Ryo asked from where he stood examining the ancient glyphs alongside Elena.

His mother didn't even look up from the immense stone wall.  "No one knows for sure.  All we have to go on is his title."

"I guess a title like 'the Destroyer' leaves a lot to the imagination."

Elena nodded, still engrossed in her study.

"And you're expecting to find some clues here?"

"Virgil sent us all out.  I was told to come here to search the four gates for any ancient references to the three high demons."

"Any luck?"

"Only a few stories.  There's nothing to tell me where to find the Destroyer."

"What about the others?  Where are they?"

"They're around…exploring the other quadrants."

"Have they been in contact?"

"I haven't heard from any of them in a while.  I'm sure they'd tell me if they found anything important."

Ryo turned away from the wall.  "So you're just waiting for more orders, I take it."

Elena looked over at him.  "I can tell you don't care much for that."

"I just think you should be free to go out looking on your own," he said matter-of-factly.

"We Guardians have always been very independent, Ryo—much like yourself—but when there is a real danger we've never failed to come together.  This is one of those times when we have to put our own needs aside and fight for the common good."

"I know what you mean.  But still, couldn't you do more than look through these decaying ruins?"

"And what if one of the others came looking for me and I wasn't anywhere to be found?"

"I don't know.  But still…"

"I'm fine here.  Of course there's nothing keeping you from looking around outside if you'd like."

"Huh?"

"You go and look for a solution on your own.  Maybe you'll even find something we haven't."

"Really?"

"Of course.  It's always helpful to have another ally."

"But I'm not really in the best shape for traveling all over the world.  I don't even have a ride."

"You still have your digivice, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll just reactivate it for you.  It will allow you to track down your partner."

"That's great!  With Cyberdramon around I'll cover the whole world in no time!"

"I strongly suggest you meet with another of my order—Malkis.  I suspect he will be most helpful, whether or not he wants to be.  Head to the south and ask around the villages.  Odds are someone will know of him and where he's gone.  When you do find him, stand up to him and don't let him bully you.  That's the only way you'll earn his respect."

"Malkis, huh?  Perfect.  I'll go right now."

"Just give me your digivice and I'll reactivate it."

Ryo reached into his bag and plucked his old blue D-Arc from within.  He eagerly handed it over to Elena, who immediately popped the cover open and looked inside.

"Alright…" she said as she reached into one of the pockets of her robe.  "I'll just…"  She removed a small, translucent red crystal from her pocket and placed it in a slot within the digivice.  It instantly began to channel power to the rest of the device and the old thing whirred to life once again.

"Wow," said Ryo.  "What was that?"

"That," Elena stated as she made a few more adjustment and snapped the cover shut again, "was a sample of what we know as 'catalyst', an extraordinarily dense and rare form of data.  It has the effect of rapidly accelerating the digivolution process and can even be used to power machinery.  The catalyst used in digivices is already depleted, but it remains the ideal medium for transferring energy between humans and digimon."

Ryo took his digivice back and admired it for a second.  Then a thought hit him.  "Didn't the Sovereigns call Calumon the catalyst?"

"They did, and rightly so.  Calumon's coming was prophesied long ago, a digimon born of the catalyst and possessing the power to give his peers the strength to fight the D-Reaper back to its lair beneath the Digital World.  Some even say he is the missing link between digimon and digignomes, but I'm not so sure about that."

"So where is he now?"

"I'm afraid I don't know.  He just dropped out of sight after the D-Reaper vanished.  I'm sorry I can't help more."

"That's alright."

"Now then, you'd best get on your way."

"Thanks…mom."

"Don't be a stranger."

"Relax.  I'll be back in time for supper."

Ryo and Elena smiled at one another and then Ryo turned, grabbed his bag, and walked toward the exit, keeping his eyes on the digimon locator at all times.

To the east of the Dragon Gate, across Azulongmon's inner sea and on the western coast of the Server continent, there lay the port city of Sun Coast.  It was a densely populated area with many buildings of uniform design, all of them being made of either light brown bricks or adobe.  The streets were all brown cobblestone, usually littered with sand.  There were a number of large squares in town that served as marketplaces, forums and recreational areas.  But beside the wooden pier where dozens of ships were docked there was the single most popular feature of the entire town: the beautiful, white sand beach.  It was on that beach, among the many swimmers, sunbathers and sandcastle-builders, that there lay a very contented Setomon.

"Piximon was sooooo right," Setomon said to himself as he lay on the sand, his belly to the sky.  "A little relaxation was exactly what I needed."

It was a good day to be alive.

"Well look who we have here," said a female voice from nearby.

"Huh?  You!"

Opening his eyes and looking up, Setomon was met by quite a surprise.  Leering over him was his mirror-image.  He jumped up rather clumsily to meet her gaze.

"You're sure looking better than you did when last we met…in more ways than one," she said calmly.

"You just dropped me off without as much as saying goodbye!" Setomon said in an annoyed tone.  "Why should I even want to talk to you?"

"Because you just can't resist."

Setomon grimaced, but conceded.  "You really do love to push my buttons, don't you?"

"It's a gift."

Setomon frowned again.  "You've got some nerve, lady."

"Your leg looks all better."

"I should think so.  I would've re-grown a whole limb just to get away from that cooking."

"And I see you've done a little growing up."

"I had a run-in with a real nasty goat by the name of Mephismon.  I digivolved during the fight."

"Mephismon?  From what I hear he's no mere goat.  I guess you're tougher than I thought if you managed to win."

"Well, I didn't quite win."

"Oh?"

"I lost…bad."

"And?"

"Huh?"

"I sense an 'and' coming."

"And…I had two other Champions helping me out."

"And?"

"And we had to escape."

"Hah!  I _knew_ you were still just a big baby."

"For the last time, I am NOT a baby!"

"Fine, have it your way.  From now on I'll just call you a puppy."

"That's not much better."

"Aww, is Nari upset?"

Setomon let out a low growl.  "I still know what that means."

His female counterpart just grinned back at him.  "I know, and yet it's still funny."

"One of these days…"

"Just name the place."

"Right here, right now!"

"You're on!"

Setomon lunged at his rival.  She bounced into the air through and came crashing down on his back, pinning him beneath her.

"Wow.  Your back is pretty soft.  Can I stay here for a while?"

"Grrr…GET OFF ME!"

"But you're oh-so-comfy!  Like a big pillow."

"I SAID—"

"You give up?"

"Never!"

"Then maybe I'll just settle right on down."

"Fine!  You win."

Setomon hopped down off his back.  He stood and shook his fur clean of sand.

"Challenge me again after you learn to fight.  I'd recommend starting by toughening up your muscles and skin.  You make a better couch than a fighter."

"I can't believe someone as annoying as you doesn't come with an off switch."

"I can't believe someone as wimpy as you made it this far so fast."

Setomon averted his eyes, trying to look nonchalant.

"Let me guess.  You had help with that too."

"And you didn't?"

"Nope.  A good run like that helps tone muscle.  Now that I think about it, it's pretty obvious you didn't run all the way here with legs like those."

"What's wrong with my legs?!"

"Just look at 'em…all flabby and underused.  Do you even walk or do you just get people to drag you around?"

"I walk!"

"Well I suppose that's something…for a puppy."

"Yeah…well…"

"Thinking up a comeback?"

"Yeah!"

"Let me know when it's ready."

"You can bet I will!  Um…"

"Now?"

"Hang on!"

"Just checking."

"Well quit it!"

"You're sure high-strung."

"Okay, uh…what was it?"

"You got it?"

"Just a second.  I almost had it."

"Well don't keep me in suspense."

"If you could just shut up for a second I might have one!"

Setomon kept her lips shut for a few more seconds, waiting eagerly.

"You want some help?"

"I can think of one!"

"A hint, maybe?"

"Shut up!"

"Not even a little one?"

"No!"

"See?  High-strung."

"Grrrrrr… Would you shut up already?!"

She laughed.  "Come on, I'm hungry.  Let's go grab a bite and you can take all the time you want with that comeback of yours."

Setomon begrudgingly agreed, trying to hide his enthusiasm at the prospect of food.

To the northeast in the vast Server Desert, hidden behind an invisible barrier, there stood a great sanctuary surrounded by a dense tropical forest.  The sanctuary itself was a many-tiered wooden building atop a steep mountain with a seemingly endless stairway leading up to it.  This was Piximon's training ground, and it was here where the two Rookies and their new sensei were spending there days.

"You call yourself a fighter?" Piximon shouted in a severe voice.  "Come on!  Put a little muscle into it!"

Veemon pulled back again, beads of sweat rolling down his face and his forehead bleeding after using it to smash so many rocks.

"I'm doing my best!" he snapped before crushing another stone.

The two of them were alone midway up the mountain where there were plenty of small rocks to crush.

"Your best isn't good enough!  You'll have to work harder if you want to be as good as Wormmon, never mind Mephismon."

Veemon smashed another rock with his forehead, but this one splintered and sent shards deep into his wound.  He cried out and fell back, overwhelmed by pain.

"What's the matter?  You gonna cry?!"

"No!"

"What's that?!"

"No sir!"

"Another!"

Veemon struggled back to his feet, picked another stone on the ground, and smashed it with his forehead.  He was clearly starting to fatigue, and the gash in his forehead was growing more painful by the second.

"Keep it up!  I think we've finally found a use for that head of yours!"

Veemon gasped.  Now he was really mad.

"What?!  Did I hurt your feelings?!"

"No, but—"

"Do not talk back to me under any condition!"

Veemon turned around, his tear-filled eyes overflowing with anger.

"You don't have to be so mean!"

"You think I'm mean?!  Well you're going to face enemies a whole lot meaner than this, so get used to it!"  Piximon then used the butt of his spear to trip Veemon.

"I," Veemon said as he stood up on one leg.  "…Have already," he forced himself up onto his hands and knees, "fought digimon," he finally stood upright, "tougher than you can imagine!  I've had to face everything from the Emperor to MaloMyotismon to NightmareOmnimon!  I know what mean is and I know what to expect!"

"And how many of them did you beat on your own, kid?!  One of these days you'll have to face a real opponent, and you'll have to do it all alone!"

"I may not be as strong as any of those guys, but I'll NEVER be alone!  I'll always have my friends there to help me and I won't give up!"

"What about Mephismon?!  You had your friend there with you and you both nearly got killed along with that other pup!  How many lives are you willing to put on the line?!"

"I'll die before I let anything happen to my friends!"

"You'll never be able to win all alone, because you're too dumb to fight a real opponent one-on-one!"

Something snapped inside Veemon.  He let out a fierce growl and came at Piximon with a lightning-fast punch.  Piximon dove under the punch and rammed his elbow into Veemon's gut, just beneath the ribs.  Veemon stopped, sputtered, and fell over.  His eyes were shut tight and he held his gut while gasping for breath.  Piximon looked down on him from above.

"Until you beat me, you can't move on to the next step of your training.  Now keep smashing rocks."

"I'll show you…" Veemon coughed out.  "I'll do whatever it takes."

Back in the warm city of Sun Coast, the two Setomon took to wandering the streets after they had their lunch, which the female had to pay for do to her rival's lack of funds.  They were presently walking through one of the city's busy marketplaces.  She looked like a fierce animal, stalking her prey amongst the crowds, while her counterpart was…not so much.

"Ow!  Ouch!  Ooh!" he cried out, trying to have as few paws on the ground as possible at any given time.  "You'd think they'd make these streets a little more friendly to those of us who—ooch!—don't wear shoes."

"You are such a marshmallow."

"I'm not a marshmallow!  I just don't like it when my feet get scorched."

"Hello!  In case you haven't noticed it, we're both naturally suited to fire!"

"Well yeah, but it doesn't hurt when I make it myself."

"Loser."

"I'm no loser!"

"Okay.  You're a puppy."

"Grr…"

"Give it up already.  And don't forget that I paid for your lunch, so you owe me."

Setomon hung his head and shut his mouth.

"So what are you—"

Before she could finish asking her question, Setomon was cut off by a terrible explosion that shook the very ground below them.  The marketplace was thrown into a commotion with some digimon instinctively running away or getting ready to fight and the others looking around in bewilderment.

"What was that?"

"Crouch down, Nari.  I don't like this."

"DON'T CALL ME—"

"Look!"

They both looked skyward and saw a huge debris cloud rising from the north end of town.  A moment later there was another explosion and another dust plume rose from the same place.  By that time most digimon were running away the source of the explosions as fast as they could.

"What's going on?" the female demanded of any passerby that would respond.

"I don't know but I'm thinking we should go with the crowd on this one!" Setomon replied.

Then they both heard it.  Among those shouting "run for your lives" and such things, one Gekomon was crying, "It's Mephismon!  The Assassin King has come for us!"

"Mephismon!" both Setomon said at once with the same angered intonation.

Just then there was another explosion from much closer and a thunderous yell that no doubt came from Mephismon himself.

"We've gotta go!" the male barked.  "We can't take him alone!"

"I'm not sure I agree," the other replied.  "But we'll play it your way.  Follow me!"

"Follow you?  No way!  I'm leading this escape!"

"Oh just come on!"

She took off down the quickly emptying street and Setomon was left with little choice but to follow as more and more explosions rocked the city.  He followed her down several more streets and finally into a cramped back alley between a few of the nondescript buildings.  They kept on going without a word but at a slower pace, moving stealthily toward the pier.

"Now listen, pup.  We've got to get to the docks and fast.  If Mephismon is as smart as they say he is then the first thing he did when he got here was to destroy the boats, but he may have missed one or two.  He won't hit the docks again so it'll be our only means of escape."

"Got it."

"We head to the docks as fast as we can.  If someone needs to be left behind then that's that.  No waiting for stragglers."

"But—"

"No waiting!"

"…Okay."

"Good.  Now—"

Before she could go on an enormous figure crashed down right in front of them, blocking the alley ahead with his bulk.  The dust from the landing subsided quickly, leaving a clear view of Mephismon.

"So this must be Mephismon…" Setomon said calmly.  "Interesting."

"Setomon…" Mephismon said with a vile little smile.  "Two of you, no less."

"Don't play around with him," the male advised judiciously.  "He's tougher than he looks—and he looks pretty tough."

"Relax.  I'm on top of things.  You just get on any boat heading out of town."

"No way!  Mephismon will eat you alive."

"Listen to your little friend there, girl.  My orders are to spare only one Setomon, meaning you're up for grabs."

"Spare?" the male asked with a confused look about him.

"I don't need you to spare me, Mephismon."

"I wasn't planning on it," he said with a smile.

"Then I won't let up either.  And to think I was ready to let you leave here alive."

"Setomon, don't!"

"Get lost, pup.  This is business for real warriors."

"I'm not going to lose you like I did Guilmon!"

"Why Nari, I had no idea you cared so much."

Even with his thick facial fur, it was very obvious that Setomon was blushing.  "I don't care!  You can go right ahead and get yourself killed!  You won't see me at the funeral."

"Then get on the damn boat."

"Better hurry, kid," Mephismon snarled.  "I won't be long here, and then I'm coming after you."

"Alright…" Setomon said ashamedly.  "Just watch out for that poison attack."

"I'm a big girl.  Now go!"

Setomon nodded and turned to run for the docks, leaving the female and Mephismon alone in the dank alleyway.

"You ready?" asked Setomon.

"It will be a pleasure to crush your spine, little girl."

Setomon bore her fangs and extended her curved claws.  Her ears perked straight up and her tail swished about behind her nervously.  Mephismon crouched slightly with his arms held out at his sides.

Meanwhile, the male Setomon scampered down the alley toward the beach, dodging trashcans and piles of boxes, ducking under hanging clothes and carpets, looking in either direction whenever he came to a crossroads.  Running as fast as he could in that confined space, it didn't take him very long to burst out onto a real street.  He could see the carnage already caused by Mephismon all around him.  He coughed on the smell of smoke in the air and nearly tripped over piles of rubble as he continued toward the docks at a slowed pace.

Mephismon struck first, charging at his much smaller prey and swinging his right arm at her.  Given the narrowness of the alley it was no surprise that his arm struck the wall as he swung, but he was able to plow through it with ease.  Setomon evaded his attack by bounding high over his head and landing gracefully behind him.  He looked over his shoulder at her with a hint of disgust in his eyes.  He then spun around as fast as he could to throw another punch, again with his right fist, but he grazed the other wall this time.  Setomon avoided his second strike in exactly the same way she had done before.  As Mephismon turned to look at her a second time, he noticed the smile on her face.

"What's the matter?" she asked.  "Am I too fast for you?"

"Quite impossible, I assure you.  If it weren't for these accursed walls I would…"

"You get it now?"

"Oh I see.  This was part of your plan the whole time, you deceptive vermin."

"It takes brains to win a fight, goat-boy.  Remember that."

"You should have used your advantage while you had it.  This will require no more than a slight readjustment of my tactics."  Mephismon then put both arms out in front of him as if to grab Setomon.

"I'm ready any time," she said confidently.

"Then come and embrace your death!"

Mephismon lunged forward and grasped at Setomon, but she jumped over his grasp and used his closed hands as a springboard.

"Fire Flash!"

Setomon was engulfed in a flaming aura.  She darted toward Mephismon's face and struck him in the neck at full speed, her intense flames and ravenous claws scorching and cutting him.  However, the wound was hardly grievous enough to halt Mephismon's counterattack.  Even as Setomon hovered in front of him, he made his move.  With ruthless power and speed he smashed his great horns into Setomon from above.  She never saw it coming.  The attack was so brutal that when she hit the cobblestone path it broke beneath her.  She could feel her ribcage nearly give away from the utter savagery of the blow.  She lay very still at that moment.

"Pathetic…" Mephismon growled.

Meanwhile, the other Setomon bounded his way down the creaky wooden dock and hopped aboard the last intact ship in the port.  It was a small, steam-driven vessel with many of the survivors already piled onboard.  Setomon hit the wooden deck running.  Tripping his way around the other surviving digimon, he headed toward the bridge, a cramped, space manned by a number of Scubamon and an unfamiliar digimon with a fin instead of feet and blue armor that even covered his face.  He sat in the captain's chair and wore a navy blue hat befitting his obvious rank.

"Who are you, matey?" demanded one of the Scubamon.

"We can't leave yet!  Someone is still back there!"

"Arr!" the Scubamon responded gruffly.  "We ain't a gonna wait around fer yer friend!  This here tub's pullin' out befer we're all sent to Davey Jones' locker!"

"All ahead full!" the captain ordered in a much more civilized voice than his Scubamon crew.

"Captain!" Setomon shouted.

"Yes?" he replied.  "I am Depthmon, captain of this vessel.  And what may I do for you, mister…?"

"It's Setomon, and you can't leave yet!  My friend is still back there."

"I am very sorry Mr. Setomon, but we must make departure immediately.  If we wait for your friend it may very well cost us all our lives.  Now please, go back with the other passengers."

Setomon was clearly panic-stricken, but he could tell there was no stopping the ship.  Therefore he rushed back out the door and to the aft section.  He felt the ship spring to life even as he ran.  Time was running very short.

"SETOMON!" he cried out as he came to the very end of the vessel.

He could see the dock beginning to pull away.  In a matter of seconds the gap would be too great to jump.

"What do I do?!" he shouted to no one in particular.  He ran back and forth along the aft.  "Setomon!  Where are you?!  Come on!  Please…"

Then, he saw a figure appear on the streets just beyond the docks.  It took him a moment to confirm, but it was her.  She ran toward him at full speed, but it didn't look like it would be enough.  Already the ship had cleared the dock.

"Come on!  Faster!" he shouted.

She began to pick up the pace, running with every ounce of strength she had left in her after the fight.  She was on the pier.

"Hurry!"

She made it to the dock, but there was already over twenty feet between the boat and the dock.  Setomon knew he had to resort to drastic measures.

"You're not even trying!  I should've known you were an all-talk chick!"

That's when he saw the anger swell up in her eyes.  With one last burst of speed she cleared the rest of the dock and made a mighty leap into the air.

_She's not gonna make it_, Setomon thought to himself.

The forty foot gap was a challenge without a doubt, but clearly she was ready to meet it…unfortunately for her male counterpart.  He had clearly not picked the best place to stand, for she landed right on top of him, sending them both into a tumble that ended when the smashed into the steel upper hull.

"Smooth move…"

"Well you're the one who insisted on standing right there."

There was a moment of silence as they both tried to catch their breath.  Then the female gave Setomon a small bite on the muzzle.

"Ow!  What was that for?!"

"For calling me a chick."


	15. Davis Struts his Stuff

[Well this chapter certainly got out fast.  It's been what, three days since my last one?  I just hope I can keep this pace up.  Now then, read, enjoy, review.]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Day 24 

Morning came to Tokyo once again, but it was a cold, dark morning with the sun blacked out by clouds.  It was expected to rain later that day.  A figure dressed in red stood alone in a graveyard at the edge of town.  For some reason he was smiling.

"Oh what fools these mortals be…"

He started to walk slowly amongst the graves, a look of pondering upon his face.  His pale skin and white hair made him look like he belonged under the stones rather than above them.  His sinister red eyes shone even in the darkness.

As he walked, he heard something that caused his smile to grow wider.  He altered his course, and soon enough he was upon the source of the sound.  There was a wooden bench among the graves, and on it there sat a boy with red-orange hair and yellow-brown eyes.  But this was not the same boy as before, or at least he didn't appear to be.  He looked older now—probably twelve or thirteen.  He also wore an orange, buttoned shirt over a white T-shirt as well as a pair of oversized tan shorts and sneakers.  He was hunched over with his eyes hidden by his bushy hair.

"Hello again," said the man.

The boy looked up and instantly recoiled in fear.  His chin quivered at the very sight of him.  "A-A-Amadeus!"

"Good," said the man.  "You remembered."

"What am I doing here?  Why can't I get away from you?"

"Because you and I are tied to one another in this life and the next.  Don't fight it."

"Well get away from me!  You're not a good person!"

"Tell me, boy, where do you come from?"

"Where do I come from?"

"Yes.  Where do you come from?"

"Hah!  That's a stupid question!  Why should I even tell you?"

"You have no idea, do you?"

"…No," he admitted meekly.

"Who are your parents?  Surely anyone would know that."

"…No."

"Even your name?"  Amadeus clearly found this all immensely amusing.

The boy thought long and hard, but as deep as he dug in his mind, he came up with nothing.  Everything since he'd left the subway was a blank.  "No."

"Would you like to know why?"

"No!"  He jumped up and started to back away from this vile-looking man.

"Where are you going, child?" Amadeus asked in an increasingly threatening tone.  "Surely you realize by now there is no running away from me.  You would have more luck escaping your own shadow."

The boy tripped over a bush as he continued to back away.  He recovered as quickly as he could and continued to back off.

"It is useless."

"Why don't I remember anything?!" the boy finally shouted, unable to take not knowing any longer.

Amadeus seemed greatly pleased at this.  "Because you choose not to."

"What?!"

"You cannot deal with reality, so you've chosen to hide it even from yourself.  It's a common failing among these…people."

"You're not making any sense!"

"Yet I can't help wondering why exactly" Amadeus said with disregard for the boy's assertion.  "Is it because their minds are not strong enough?  Perhaps they are content to grope about with their eyes closed.  Or maybe, just maybe, they are paralyzed by the unutterable fear of the truth."

The boy was unwilling to listen to any more.  So he turned and started to run.  But as he grew further away from the dark presence of Amadeus his vision and his consciousness began to fade.  He knew that he was slipping back into the darkness, but he had to get away no matter the cost.

Setomon awoke shivering.  It took him a few moments to remember where he was, but it came back to him quickly enough.  He lay up on deck of the steam ship with many of the other refugees.  His only protection from the night's chill air was his own fur and a thin blanket.

Standing up groggily and keeping the blanket wrapped loosely over his shoulders, he plodded his way over to the railing to look out on the sea and stars.  It was a clear night, just before dawn.  The air was thick with the salty smell coming off the ocean and a frigid wind blew in from the north.  Setomon shook from both the cold and the imprinted memories from his dreams.

"Hey, pup."

"Setomon!" he said with a start, turning to see her looking at him.  She walked calmly over to him.

"Relax.  I'm not here to insult you; it's too early for that."

"Then why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep.  Plus I didn't want to be caught off guard if Mephismon tried to track us down."

"So I take it you didn't beat him."

"I could have if I'd really tried.  I just didn't have the time to beat him and reach the boat, and I knew you'd never be able to survive a trip on the high seas without someone like me around to watch out for you."

"You sure think a lot of yourself."

"There's no reason not to."

"Whatever."

Both of them were quiet for a little while after that.  They just looked up at the stars together.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, pup."

"What are they?"

"What are what?"

"All those lights up there?"

"What do you mean what are they?  They're stars!  Don't you know anything?"

"But what are stars?"

"Stars are…they're…they're lights in the sky at night."

"Okay."

They were quiet for a little longer.  Someone else up on the deck coughed; the wooden boards creaked; the vessel pitched up with the coming wave and down with the trough that followed.  Setomon lay down on his belly with his head through the railing looking down into the swirling waters below.  His companion, meanwhile, stood tall and proud, her eyes still aimed for the stars.

"What do you dream about, pup?"

"What do I dream about?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I heard you talking in your sleep."

"Just dreams…like everyone has."

"Nobody has the same dreams.  If they're interesting enough to talk about in your sleep you might as well share them when you're awake."

"They're just dreams.  That's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure."

"Then why don't you want to tell me?"

"…Because I don't like to think about them."

Setomon looked concerned, perhaps for the first time in a long while.  "Why?"

"Because…they scare me."

"They scare you?"

"Yeah…"

Setomon nodded but said nothing.

"In one dream, I'm somewhere dark and cold.  But then there's this light, and it feels like I'm on fire and there are all these…things…surrounding me.  Or maybe they're all one big thing.  But they get closer and…and they're sharp.  It hurts a lot when they get too close.  And then it always ends when a monster comes up behind me and speaks to me.  It…it frightens me a lot more than Mephismon ever could."

Setomon remained still after hearing this.  She seemed to be reflecting on it, or perhaps there was something more, hidden behind those mysterious eyes of hers.

"But there's another dream too," he continued.  "It's like a whole different world when I'm there.  There aren't any digimon, not even me.  I'm different.  Everything is different.  The ground feels different; the air smells different; the sun looks different.  And I'm all alone."

"I see."

"Satisfied?"

"Setomon?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you traveling?"

"Why?  It's what I do."

"But why?  There must be a reason."

"Not really.  It's just what I've been doing since I left the Island with Guilmon.  I don't see why I should stop now."

"Are you heading somewhere?"

"I don't think so.  I'm just traveling."

"I see."

"Why?"

"That used to be me.  Traveling freely with no set direction, no goals besides survival, no ties to anyone."

"Used to be?"

"Not so much anymore."

"Why?"

"I have a purpose now."

"And what's that?"

"To make sure lost little puppies like yourself don't get yourselves killed by a moron like Mephismon."

"So you miss it?  Being like me?"

"All the time."

"…It's lonely."

"You get used to it."

"I don't know if I want to get used to it.  Ever since Guilmon…"

"Take my advice, pup.  Once we get off this tub, find a place to settle down and never leave it.  It may not be freedom, but neither is what you're doing now."

"Guilmon told me to go back to the island before he died.  He told me to stay there and just live life in peace with Elecmon and the others, but I didn't listen to him.  Do you really think I'm gonna listen to you?"

"Well it was good advice, and if you weren't such a stupid little baby you'd listen to it."

"Hey, I thought you said it was too early for insults."

"I'm warming up."

"Then go warm up on somebody else."

"Come on.  You know you'd miss our little games if I wasn't around."

"I haven't so far."

"Aww.  Come on.  Don't be that way."  She began to purr in his ear.

"Quit it."

She did.  "Well it looks like we'll be stuck on this tub for a little while.  You won't have the time to miss all this."

"Fantastic," he responded unenthusiastically.

"Cheer up, pup.  The journey ahead is still a long one, no matter what you do with it.  You might as well enjoy the trip."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Just then they saw one of the Scubamon crew walking toward them.

"Arr!" he greeted.  "Captain's got a message for all landlubbers.  We're headin' south out of this quadrant.  Need to get far away from that scallywag Mephismon.  Once we land yer on yer own."

"The south…" said the female.

"I've heard about it," said the other.  "It's supposed to be a really dangerous place, right?  No laws, endless deserts, all kinds of nasty stuff."

"It's perfect."

"Eh?"

"I've been there and it's just like you described it, only better."

"You're a weird one, alright."

"Yeah, I guess a tenderfoot like you can't appreciate such a place.  Oh well, your loss.  I'll be heading inland once we arrive; follow me if you'd like."

"No thanks.  I'll stick to the places where a guy can find something to eat."

"A few days out in the wastelands will do you some good, pup.  At the very least you'll earn yourself a few calluses and lose a little of that baby fat."

"Blech.  You can keep your calluses and I like my fat just where it is."

"Wuss."

"How long is this boat ride?"

"It's pretty far I think; maybe a day or two."

"Yippee."

"I'm going to lie down.  You keep an eye out for Mephismon just in case the goat can swim."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you.  If you ever want to learn to fight you should at least be able to stand guard."

"Oh all right."

"See you in the morning."  She sauntered off to parts unknown, leaving Setomon alone to watch the sea and sky.

In a Trailmon station to the west, a shadowy meeting was to be held.  Gargomon and Wendigomon, again donning their ponchos and wide-brimmed hats, stood alone in the darkened station.

"Where are they?" asked Wendigomon.

"Don't get all jumpy.  They'll be here."

Gargomon seemed very casual about the whole thing, but Wendigomon paced back and forth incessantly.

"Doesn't it bother you that we're aiding and abetting a pair of criminals?  We're officers of the law!"

"We're also their friends, and we know they didn't do anything wrong.  Think of this as higher orders or something."

"Surely you realize that if we're caught we'll share their fate."

"Then we'd better not get caught.  And stop calling me Shirley, it's irritating."

"Psst!  Hey!  Over here!" a third voice called out.

The officers quickly turned to where the voice came from.  A single figure stood there, maybe three or four feet tall, and sporting a tattered red cloak and hood that completely obscured the identity of the digimon.

"Are you alone?" the mystery digimon asked.

"We are," replied Wendigomon.

"Good.  Thanks for meeting with me."

"You mean us!" said a second, higher-pitched voice.

"You keep quiet!  We're supposed to be incognito."

"But why did _I_ have to be on the bottom?  You're the guy!"

"But I don't have any shoulders to stand on, so there!"

"You don't even have feet!  How can you stand at all?"

"Keep your voices down!" Wendigomon whispered.

"Don't worry you two," Gargomon said confidently.  "This area is secure."

"Thank goodness," said the other two digimon.

"Now get off me!" the girl ordered.

The top half of the figure suddenly toppled over with a yell, leaving Biyomon, the lower half, standing there to dust off her wings.

"You could have warned me!" said the top half as he tossed his disguise off and revealed himself as Gomamon.

"We don't have time for this!" said Wendigomon.

"He's right," said Gargomon.  "All aboard the Trailmon!"

"Right!" the others all agreed.

As the small party boarded the one-car Trailmon and left the station the sun peaked over the eastern horizon.  With any luck they would reach their destination in the south without incident and from there they could continue their hunt for the Destroyer.

Soon dawn turned over to day, and then day made its way back into dusk.  Hours passed and soon enough it was the stroke eight o'clock in the city of Tokyo…and things were just about to get interesting if Davis Motimiya had anything to say about it.

The sun was down, which meant Mr. Motimiya had the perfect lighting for his entrance onto the night club scene at the end of a very long week.  He opened the taxi door and put one foot clad in his swankiest leather footwear onto the sidewalk.  His leg followed naturally enough, wrapped in royal blue suede.  The rest of him popped out after slipping the driver the amount due.  He wore a jacket to match the pants with a black, wide-collared shirt left partially unbuttoned.  Around his waist was a black leather belt to match the shoes and on his wrist was a gold watch.  His hair was spiked to perfection and he coyly looked over the rims of his designer sunglasses before stepping toward the door.

En rout he spotted a couple girls looking his way, so he flashed a smile and said, "Hey ladies."

One of them rolled her eyes but the other winked back and they both kept on walking.  Overflowing with confidence, Davis strutted to the bar entrance and flashed his I.D.  The bouncer gave it and Davis a great deal of scrutiny.  He didn't look at all convinced that this caricature standing before him was twenty-one, but the I.D. looked authentic.

"Have a good evening, sir."

With the velvet rope no longer blocking his path, Davis strutted on in, paid the cover charge and saw the scene spread out before him like a great hunting range, filled with the most dangerous and exotic beasts known to man: woman.  He caught the scent of perfume in the air.  Off to one side he picked up on a muffled girl giggle.  Out of the corner of his eye he detected a hint of cleavage.

"Ladies, I have arrived,"

Davis ran his fingers through his hair.  One more quick scan of the room and his sensors zeroed in on a table with only women.  He hiked his pants up and moved in for the kill with his now overused strut.  He reached the table, placed his hand on it, and leaned in.  He looked at each of the lovely ladies and finally picked the cutest one, a brunette in a green dress.

Davis smiled and lowered his sunglasses slightly.  "Is it hot in here or is it just you?"

A second passed and then all the women at the table burst into hysterical laughter.  It became apparent after ten seconds or so that this wouldn't stop any time soon, so Davis gathered up his rather resilient dignity and moved on.

Davis then spotted his next target, a tall woman with straight, bleached hair and blue jeans with a pink tube top sitting at the bar.  He slid his way over to her, maneuvering between the many other people there.  With surprising grace he dropped into the stool right beside her.  Using the same smile and look over his sunglasses as before, he made his move.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?  If not I can walk by again."

The woman, who until then hadn't been facing him, swiveled her stool his way, but when her leg hit his she 'accidentally' spilled her drink…right in his lap.

"Yeeeah!" Davis announced in a rather girly scream.

"Oh!  I'm so sorry," the woman replied.  "The bathroom is right back there.  You'd better go wash up."

With a frown and a rather embarrassing addition to his outfit, Davis stood and headed toward the bathroom.  But he didn't quite make it before spotting another opportunity.  He saw a girl with short, black hair and a skimpy red dress dancing by herself…with no drink in her hand.

"Score."

Davis moved in as slyly as a fox, but when he got in close he put on a somewhat troubled expression.  He placed his hand on her shoulder and asked, "Can you help me?"

She gave him a look and smiled.  "Sure."

"I seem to have lost my phone number."  At that point a grin crossed his face.  "Can I have yours?"

"Sure," she said, much to Davis' surprise.  "I'll just get it from my boyfriend.  Oh Dietrich!"

Davis looked over to where she was calling and saw an enormous man with blonde hair and fists the size of Davis' whole head.

"Holy… Actually I think I'll go ask someone else.  You have a nice night now."

Davis scampered off before he was forced to face the wrath of Gigantor.  Now having all but forgotten about the stain on his pants he grabbed a drink from the bar and moved on to the next target.  Spotting a girl who'd just come in the door he moved in to snatch her up before somebody else did.

"Hey there.  You must be Mickey, because you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind."  He topped it off by making a little kissing gesture.

The girl looked him up and down once and then her expression softened.  "You know, you're a cutie."

"Huh?!"

"Davis was so caught of guard that his arm had a slight spasm just strong enough to make him lose his grip on his drink and spilling it…right on the girl.  The last Davis saw of her she was reaching for her mace.

Rejected four times in as many minutes, Davis decided it would be best to just take a break.  He walked over to an empty table and took a seat as the exact same time as another girl did.  Davis was about to give up without a fight when he noticed that he knew this girl.

"Kari?"

"Davis?"

The two of them just kind of looked at one another for a few seconds.  Kari finally got up the nerve to speak.

"What are you doing here, Davis?"

"Oh, you know.  Just normal stuff.  Painting the town red.  What about you?"

Davis remembered the stain on his lap at that moment and did his best to cover it before Kari saw.

"I'm here on a date with TK.  He's getting our drinks."

"Oh, well okay.  I should probably just get another table then."

"You don't have to.  Come and sit with us, we'd be happy to have you.  It might relieve some tension."

"Tension?"

"Well…he proposed to me just the other day?"

"Then I guess congratulations are in order," Davis said despondently.

"…But I said no."

"What?  Why?"

"Uh, well, I…"

"Oh jeez, sorry.  It's none of my business, right?"

"No, no.  It's alright.  I'll tell you.  I kind of feel like I have to tell someone anyway.  It's…it's just not the right time, you know?  I mean with Ken and Yolei getting married and all the things we've got going on and TK having trouble at work…it just doesn't feel right."

"Trouble at work?"

"Yeah.  He's been missing a few days because he wanted to stay home and work on his book.  You know, the one about us and the first time we went to the Digital World?"

"Oh yeah.  How's that coming?"

"Slow.  VERY slow.  He's having a hard time finding anyone who'd be willing to publish it.  He tries to make up for missing days of work by staying late, but it's just been getting insane.  Sometimes he doesn't even bother coming home at night."

"That's terrible."

"I know, and now he wants to get married?  I want to get married to, but not for a while, you know?  And certainly not right now with everything that's happening."

Davis said nothing for a few seconds and then turned to Kari with a smile.  "Are you exhausted?  Because you've been running through my mind—"

"Stop it, Davis."

Davis was about to complain, but Kari cut him off.

"What's wrong with you?!  I'm telling you something serious and you're trying to hit on me?!  You always act like such a…such a…JERK!"

"But…but…but…"

There was no stopping Kari now.

"For once can't you just treat me like a friend and stop trying to impress me or pick me up?  Can't you just give it a rest?  It got old a LONG time ago, Davis!"

Davis was stunned and shamed.  He sunk back in his seat and looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I'm…sorry."

Kari's anger subsided and she realized what she'd done.  Davis was sitting before her looking like a little boy who'd just been yelled at.  "Oh, Davis, I'm so sorry.  I shouldn't have said—"

"I've never seen you act like that before.  That hurt.  It really did."

"I didn't mean it.  I'm so sorry.  Maybe I should just go."

"…But you were right."

"No, I wasn't!  You're a wonderful person, Davis, and I was way out of line with that."

"No, Kari.  You were right.  I've been a total jerk."

"No you haven't!"

"Yes I have!  I've treated you like something I could win if I said just the right thing at the right time.  But you're more than that.  You're a person…a very special person.  And I haven't seen any of that."

"Don't beat yourself up so much.  You didn't do anything wrong."

"Of course I did.  I've been in love with you since I was eleven Kari, but I never said it right.  I've always just been this stupid, bumbling moron around you.  I never once saw you as having a mind of your own."

"You…love me?"

"Of course!  Could it have been any more obvious?"

"I guess I just never thought of it like that.  I've always seen it as just some silly crush that never went away."

"Well then I'll say it again.  I love you, Kari."

Kari began to blush fiercely.  She tried to hide it, not knowing why.

"Kari?"

"Where's TK with those drinks."

"Oh I get it."  Davis stood to go.

"Wait, no.  Please stay."

Davis stopped for a moment but then started to walk.  Kari grabbed his wrist and silently pleaded for him not to leave.  Davis stopped again.

"Please don't…" Kari whispered.

Davis closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and then yanked his hand away from Kari.  Rejection by all the other women on Earth could not hurt Davis nearly as much as rejection by her.  And that was how he left, with his dignity shattered alongside his heart.

"Here you go, Kari," said TK, sitting down next to her with their drinks.  "Sorry it took so long but—"

"Oh shut up!"

Kari stormed off, looking ready to cry.

"What?!" TK called after her.

Kari didn't respond, so TK leaned back with a frown and downed both his and Kari's drinks.

"Waitress!  I need another drink over here!"


	16. Departures

Day 26 

The southern quadrant was a dry, dusty place for the most part.  The rock was as red as the Sovereign that had ruled over it and its landscape was peppered with mesas and other interesting geological formations.  The sun beat down on the harsh terrain through a perfectly clear sky, and far away, on the edge of the heavens, one could make out the form of the planet that had given life to this world.

In this dry and dusty land there was only one desire: survival.  Those who sought to master it were forced to become strong, and Cyberdramon was very good at just that.

"Deletion Claw!"

He fired his trademark attack at one of his current opponents, a Kuwagamon.  The giant insect never stood a chance, being torn apart by the awesome power that Cyberdramon had come to possess.  Cyberdramon quickly loaded Kuwagamon's data as the other three challengers, a Scorpiomon and two Tortomon, quickly encircled him.

"Tail Blade!" shouted the Scorpiomon.

The monster thrust his deadly tail at Cyberdramon with deadly speed and accuracy, but Cyberdramon quickly lifted his arm to block and deflected the strike.  Then the Tortomon made their move with their Strong Carapace attacks, throwing dozens of heavy plates from their backs at Cyberdramon.  Cyberdramon turned to face the oncoming assault.  He dodged most of them and punched through those that he couldn't avoid.

When the attack had run its course, Cyberdramon moved in on the first Tortomon, leaping through the air with a kick ready to come down right on its head.  Scorpiomon interfered though when he used his Twin Sword attack, tossing a pair of radiant projectiles directly in Cyberdramon's path and forcing him to abort the attack.  Both Tortomon took advantage of this and again unloaded with their Strong Carapace attacks, scoring numerous blows on Cyberdramon this time around.

Cyberdramon touched down only mildly hurt from the Tortomon's attacks.  He recognized Scorpiomon as the main threat and knew he'd have to be dealt with first.  The three digimon snarled at Cyberdramon, waiting for him to make his move before they came in with their own attacks.

Cyberdramon let out a ferocious growl and charged Scorpiomon head-on.  Scorpiomon raised his tail and readied his claws to unleash his Twin Sword attack again.  The Tortomon fired at Cyberdramon again from behind.  As soon as Cyberdramon got in close enough, Scorpiomon swung his claws inward, hurling another pair of projectiles at his opponent.  Cyberdramon found himself directly between the attacks from the Tortomon and Scorpiomon…just as he'd planned.  At the last moment he pulled up and sailed right over the attacks.  He came right back down again in front of Scorpiomon as the attacks eliminated one another behind him.  Scorpiomon struck again with his Tail Blade, but Cyberdramon didn't deflect it this time.  Instead he caught the beast's tail in his arms and held on tight.  Scorpiomon tried to pull his appendage away, but Cyberdramon's relatively small body held a great deal of strength.  With one great pull he yanked Scorpiomon's tail clean off his body and then finished the job with his deadly Deletion Claw.

As Cyberdramon finished loading Scorpiomon's data he turned his attention back to the two Tortomon.  They weren't the most tempting targets, but every little bit helped.  He got ready to finish the job.

"Stop!"

Cyberdramon was distracted by a voice from behind him, but he wouldn't let that hold him back from becoming stronger.  He ignored it and got ready to attack.

"I said stop!" the voice shouted again.

Suddenly, Cyberdramon felt something lash around his neck and bind him in place.  It pulled him back from the Tortomon who were to be his prey.  Angered by this intrusion, Cyberdramon twisted his neck to see who had restrained him.  His eyes moved up the glowing lasso to its source.  Atop a large boulder there stood a man wrapped in a tattered brown cloak that was whipped about him by the wind.  His soft brown hair was likewise tossed by the steady breeze, but his crystal-clear blue eyes remained steady, as did his gloved hand in which he held the digivice from which the lasso had sprung.

"That's enough, Cyberdramon."

"Ryo…" Cyberdramon said with sudden recognition.

"You Tortomon!  Get out of here before I unleash him again!"

The Tortomon did just as Ryo suggested and hurried off into the wastes.  Ryo released his hold on Cyberdramon.

"So are you happy to see me?" Ryo asked with that old familiar smile returning to his face.

Cyberdramon quickly walked over to Ryo, who was at eye level with his digimon thanks to the rock on which he stood.  Neither of them said anything, but even after all this time they understood one another perfectly.

"Come on," said Ryo.  "We've got business to take care of."

"What's the job?"

"Find one nasty demon and take him down."

"Sounds like fun."

By that time the steam ship from Sun Coast City had reached the borders of the southern quadrant.  What they found was the edge of a continent…literally.  Sheer cliffs ran right up from the ocean along much of the border.  It was very lucky for everyone that the captain and crew had sailed to the area before and knew of a coastal city.

In a small bay on the border there lay the small settlement of Rising Star.  It was a dingy little burg that was really no more than a small collection of homes and businesses with a few docks.  Still, it was rather metropolitan by the standards of the southern quadrant.

"Oh man does it feel good to get off that barge!" Setomon exclaimed as he ran off the boat and onto the dock.

"Don't get too excited," his female companion advised as she followed him calmly.  "There are worse things around here than a little sea sickness."

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that again."

"Talk about what?  I was just stating a fact."

The two began to walk up the dock side-by-side.

"Good.  As long as we have an understanding."

"By the way, you might want to lay off fish for a while.  I think they make you a little queasy."

"Hey!"

"Just stating a fact."

"Right."

They walked a little further.

"You know, you never did tell me how you got away from Mephismon."

"I out-maneuvered him plain and simple."

"Too fast for him, right?"

"You know it."

"And to think you passed up a chance at beating him just to get on the boat with me."

"If I didn't you would've come back for me and I didn't need to deal with both of you at the same time.  One idiot is bad enough."

"I'm no idiot!"

"Oh yeah?  Then why did you fall for this?"

"Fall for wha—"

Before Setomon could finish he was given a slight nudge from his companion that proved just enough to knock him off the dock and into the water.  He splashed around for a few seconds while she looked down on him and laughed to herself.  When Setomon's head emerged from the water he was soaked; his hair had completely covered up one eye while he just kind of stared up at his attacker with the other.

"Told you," she taunted.

Setomon spit out a stream of water.  "Cheap shot."

"Come on, let's go."

Both continued heading for land, although the male was now stuck taking the water route.

"So where are you heading next?" he inquired after a few seconds.

"I think I'll take a little walk through the Great Driver Wasteland."

"The what?"

"Alright, you see this continent is known as Driver.  It's a dry, dusty place full of danger.  There are a bunch of places called wastelands where there's no water and thus no life.  The largest of these is known as the Great Driver Wasteland; it's a great place to go if you're looking for an early grave."

"So why are you going there?"

"For the same reason I ran across Server.  It'll toughen me up.  That's the whole reason I've been on this little trip of mine."

"I see.  Let's say I didn't want to walk out into certain death.  What should I do?"

"You?  Tenderfoot puppies should keep to the more traditional means of travel.  Head west along the road to a tiny little village.  It's the last stopping point for the Blimpmon service before wastes.  Blimpmon aren't cheap, but they'll get you wherever you want to go."

"And how do you suggest I get a ticket?"

"Each Blimpmon takes on four guards—the runs are a bit dangerous at times—and if any of them lose a guard or two they'll be looking for replacements."

"So?"

"Guards ride for free if they don't want pay."

"Alright, I'll do it."

They reached the beach then and the male sloshed out of the water and onto the beach.  The female ducked while he shook himself dry.

"Enjoy it while you can, pup.  Water's in short supply around here."

"Good advice."

"Well I'll see you!"

"Wait!  You're leaving now?"

"I can't hang around here all day.  If I spend any more time with you I might really start getting soft.  So long!"

And with that she ran off.  Setomon was alone again.

"I'm leaving," Angemon announced.

Things had been uncomfortable at the Ivory Tower for the past few days in Angemon's eyes.  Since his outburst to Lucemon nothing had seemed quite right, and now he had reached his decision as he stood in the library with Kuzamon and Angewomon.

"What do you mean?" asked Angewomon.  "You can't simply leave."

"Angewomon's right.  Your duties here aren't finished."

"I have failed in my duty.  Lucemon will give us no aid and these books have told us nothing.  There is no more for me to do here."

"Methinks you give up too quickly," said Kuzamon.

"Please, Angemon.  Stay here and try to speak with Lucemon again."

"I cannot.  Even now I may be too late.  It is time to go."

"Lucemon's door is sealed even to me," said Kuzamon.

"Do you see?" Angemon asked.  "Even Lucemon doesn't want me here."

"You are the one who does not see," said Kuzamon.  "Lucemon feels no anger.  The sealing of his door means that our benevolent monarch is in deep meditation.  Perhaps your words reached him."

"I find that doubtful."

"If you're leaving then I'm coming with you," said Angewomon.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"But I'm going to."

Angemon let out a long sigh.  "I just don't see how Lucemon can just sit back and let this happen.  And I once believed him to be the wisest of all digimon."

"Disillusionment is common when one doesn't get what they expect," said Kuzamon.  "And it prevents them from seeing what's really there."

"How do you mean?"

"Just because two people see something differently, does that make either of them wrong?"

This clearly struck something within Angemon, for a strange look came over his face.  Then he began to smile and started walking out of the library.

"Angemon?" asked Angewomon.  "Where are you going?"

"Let him go," Kuzamon advised with a little smile of his own.  "He's got his answer."

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to."

Angemon ascended the tower's great height quickly and reached the entrance to Lucemon's sanctuary.

"None may pass through these doors," said one of the HolyKnightmon.  "Lucemon desires solitude."

"Tell him I've come to see him and that it is urgent."

"I am sorry, brother, but Lucemon was absolute in his orders on this matter."

Suddenly the doors began to open of their own volition.  The HolyKnightmon were clearly not expecting this.

"I suppose Lucemon wishes you to enter.  Do so quickly, and do not disturb him for long."

Angemon followed the advice of the HolyKnightmon and rushed through the gate.  Again he found himself in that most impressive chamber with the great tree in the center.  This time, however, Lucemon was in plain view, hovering near the base of the tree in the lotus position with his eyes closed.

"Lucemon!" Angemon called out.

"Thou hast come again.  I knowest why, but do thee?"

Angemon began to walk steadily toward the levitating figure.  "Indeed I do.  I have come to answer your question."

"Then giveth thy answer."

"Both points of view are correct.  For those on the outside there is only stone and that is the fact of the matter.  For those looking out there are windows on these walls and there can be no denying that."

Lucemon's eyes opened and he smiled with genuine amusement.  "Perhaps thy first question of me was not so irrelevant in the end."

"Lucemon, you were right to choose in favor of not killing, but I was also right in wishing to save many good lives by taking a few evil ones.  Perhaps the answer we seek lies in the middle."

"Thou art growing up, Angemon.  And you are right.  Nevertheless I shant risk the lives of those who seek sanctuary here."

"But—"

"The only life I may offer thee is mine own."

Angemon was shocked.  "Lucemon?  You would fight with us?"

"It is better that mine eyes should death rather than theirs.  I can hold myself back from killing; I sadly cannot say the same for all those here."

"Lucemon, I have no doubt that with your aid we can stop the Destroyer before he can complete whatever plans he has for the _Fifth Eye_."

"I hath foreseen the coming battle, Angemon."

"You have?"

"Indeed, and the danger will be very great.  Thine own self will face the beast.  If thy wish is to survive then thou must remain here a time and work closely with Goldramon, a master of the arts of combat.  He shall teach thee and Angewomon what thou must know to survive."

"What's this about Angewomon?"

"She too shall fight and face the same dangers as thee.  Only together and with Goldramon's lessons canst thou both survive the day."

"Thank you, Lucemon."

"Get thee to thy task, Angemon.  The time draws closer with every passing day."

Angemon bowed once, turned around, and left.  But even as his training under Goldramon was about to begin, Piximon's training of Veemon and Wormmon was growing more and more intense.

"Again!" Piximon barked.

Wormmon obediently charged the boulder before him and rammed into it at full strength.  Once again he did no more than crack the surface.  Beaten and bruised, Wormmon slumped to the ground, wheezing heavily.

"Come on you maggot!  Get up!"

Wormmon struggled to rise again but couldn't.  He simply lay there in a semi-paralyzed state.

"Leave *pant* him alone *wheeze*," said Veemon from where he stood nearby with his own cracked boulder.  "He's not built *cough* for this kind of thing."

"Did I say you could stop?!" Piximon demanded.

Veemon sighed and turned once again to the rock before him.  He started punching at it despite his already bloody knuckles.  Each punch was sheer torture, doing more damage to Veemon than to the rock.  It was so painful he could barely hold back his tears.

"Harder!  Faster!"

"I can't!" Veemon replied.

"You'd better if you ever want to beat Mephismon!"

Veemon tried to strike faster, but he just couldn't take it.

"Wormmon!  On your feet now!"

After his very brief rest, Wormmon was ready to once again try his hand at standing.  He succeeded this time and wobbled over to his starting position again.

"Charge!"

Wormmon followed his instructors' orders no matter how foolhardy they seemed and ran headfirst into the boulder.  The collision chipped off no more than a few shards of rock, but it was enough to put Wormmon down hard.  He was clearly rendered unconscious by the blow.

"Wormmon!" shouted Veemon.

"Eyes on your work!" Piximon shouted.

"But he's—"

"None of your concern.  If you let the weaknesses of others hold you back you'll never get any stronger than they are."

Veemon knew he had to bite his tongue.  He sucked it up and went back to punching the rock in front of him with a greater fury fueled by his anger.  Yet the rock stood strong against his assault, and if anything his punches only got weaker.

Back in the north, deep in the vast forests, there stood a small village.  It was the same village that was home to Taomon and Antylamon.  It was to this village that two strangers came.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Palmon, who strode out of the trees and into the hamlet first.

"Quite sure, my dear," said her companion, Hawkmon, who was heavily encumbered by a large backpack.  "Now shall we be on our way?  This thing is murder on my spine!"

"You're the one who insisted on bringing your cheesy wares."

"Cheesy wares?!  I'll have you know these are *oof* authentic artifacts collected on my now famous expedition through the west!"

"They're junk!  You can't even tell what most of them are!"

"Poppycock!  Only a buffoon could mistake this carved wooden figure as being anything but a sacred idol of great importance to some ancient tribe or another!"

"Isn't that the stick you scared off those feral Chuumon with a while back?"

"Uh, why, yes it is.  You see, they were clearly terrified by the great powers of this idol and ran off in fear of it."

"You found it on the ground!"

"And what a lucky find it was!"  Hawkmon carefully placed the stick back in his pack.

"Come on, we'd better hurry before those Chuumon come back."

"You don't think they would, do you?"

Palmon started walking forward with Hawkmon coming along behind, occasionally turning to see if there was anything lurking behind them.

"That looks like the shrine right up ahead," said Palmon, shading her eyes from the sun.

"Indeed it does, my dear."  Hawkmon pulled a travel brochure from one of the many pouches on his pack and unfolded it.  "According to this, the shrine was built nearly a hundred years ago and the town simply grew up around it.  Since that time it has been—"

"Put a sock in it already.  Let's go inside."

"If you insist."

Hawkmon tried to refold the brochure with some difficulty as he followed Palmon up to the temple door.  Palmon stepped through easily enough, but Hawkmon found his backpack a bit too large to permit him entry.  He struggled with the door for a few moments before finally giving up.

"Can't you just take it off?" Palmon suggested.

"Why don't you just go on ahead.  I'll be out here, uh, keeping guard."

Palmon rolled her eyes and went on ahead without her traveling companion.  She entered into the shrine and found the inner door open.  Passing into the inner chamber she saw the Taomon that Angewomon had told her of.  She was lighting incense.

"How may I be of service?" Taomon asked, turning from her work.

"I've come to speak with a MarineAngemon," Palmon explained.  "I understand there's one here on a visit from the Ivory Tower."

"There is, but I'm afraid he is not here on business and wouldn't care much for being disturbed."

"It's quite alright.  The Angewomon who came by here to announce his visit is a friend of mine.  I'm sure he's expecting me."

Taomon sighed.  "Very well.  MarineAngemon is in a conference with my assistant, Antylamon.  I am certain they are somewhere nearby in the woods.  If you are meant to find them then I have no doubt of your success."

"Thank you, priestess."  Palmon made a simple curtsey.

"Be about your business, then.  I have my own work to attend to."

Palmon quickly left.  She covered her eyes as she stepped into the open air once again.  Oddly enough, the courtyard outside the shrine now seemed to hold something of great interest.

"What the…?"

A large crowd had gathered that Palmon had to push her way through to see what was going on.

"Step right up!  One at a time, please!" Hawkmon called out from the center of the crowd.  "Behold these mystic relics collected from the far corners of the known world!  Why look here!  I have an ancient crystal found within a long-forgotten shrine!  Or this!  Behold this stunning example of early stone craftsmanship!  Notice the exquisite detail!  And what's this?  Why it's no less than a piece of the stone map to the mysterious home of the gods.  You can also learn about the perilous journey to recover them in this book which I myself wrote along the great adventure!  What mysteries can these wondrous artifacts reveal?  Perhaps you yourself may be inspired to go on such a journey by merely possessing them!  Do I have any bids for these marvels of the ancients?"

"Hawkmon!"

"Aah!"

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Palmon!  You gave me a dreadful fright just now.  Whatever could be the matter?"

"We're here on business and you're still trying to hock this junk?"

"I say!  How dare you refer to these treasures as junk?  Every last item in this satchel is more rare and wonderful than nay flower you've ever sold!"

"How dare you insult my flowers?!"

"I speak only the truth, dear Palmon."

"Get over here, you!"

Palmon charged Hawkmon.  There was a brief scuffle within the crowd but Hawkmon popped free a second later and began to fly for his life.

"Palmon, please!  Calm yourself!"

"Get back here!" Palmon shouted upon escaping the crowd as well.  "Poison Ivy!"

 Palmon sent her vines after Hawkmon.  He saw them over his shoulder but couldn't get away.  They wrapped him up like a Christmas present and he dropped like a stone.  After Hawkmon hit the ground and a plume of dust was thrown up around him, Palmon removed her vines, though still clearly miffed.

"Serves you right for insulting my flowers."

Suddenly something small and pink zipped past them both heading toward the shrine.

"What was that?" asked Palmon.

Hawkmon's head was spinning, but he was still able to slur out, "I do believe that was MarineAngemon."

"Then what are we waiting for?  Let's go talk to him!"

"Hold on a moment," Hawkmon said as he sat up.  "I sense something…odd."

Then something else burst through the trees and flashed before their eyes.  It too was pink, but it was much bigger.  The figure flew past them and then crashed to the ground, rolling along the dirt path before finally coming to a stop.  It was Antylamon, and she looked hurt.

"What the…?" Palmon wondered.

Then they and everyone else in the street saw a figure begin to distinguish itself from the darkness of the woods.  It appeared to have a distorted humanoid shape and stood eight or nine feet tall.  A chill wind seemed to surround it.

"What do we do, Palmon?"

"I don't know.  I'm not even sure what it is."

"Stay back!" Antylamon ordered as she rose again.  "He's mine."

Hawkmon and Palmon didn't know what to make of this, but the villagers seemed to know what was going on for they quickly fled into their homes.  Antylamon stood fully upright and dusted herself off.  The strange digimon stepped out of the trees to meet her challenge.

"Taomon?" Palmon asked upon seeing the digimon.

The digimon indeed looked almost exactly like Taomon, except its fur was blue and its clothes were of a slightly darker color.

"No," said Antylamon.  "That is Doumon.  You would do well to seek sanctuary until he is gone."

"Out of my way, heretic," Doumon commanded.  "My only interest here is with your heathen priestess."

"You'll see her over my dead body."  Antylamon prepared her fighting stance.

"If yours is one more soul I cannot save then so be it."

Doumon rushed Antylamon, his arms hanging limply behind him and his enormous sleeves blowing about wildly.  Antylamon expected a kick, so she raised her arms to block.  But instead of such a brutish attack, Doumon came to a very sudden halt right in front of her.  He quickly raised his right arm and slapped a red spell scroll on her blocking arm.  He immediately backed away.

"What the—"

Before Antylamon could say any more the scroll burst in a small explosion of blinding noise and light.  Antylamon was knocked back by the shock.

"Is this really the best you can do, bodyguard?"

"I'm just getting warmed up!"

Antylamon punched blindly at Doumon, but he caught her by the wrist and used the strength of her own attack to toss her right over his shoulder.  Antylamon lay there for a moment with the wind knocked out of her.

"Now to finish this…"

From deep within his robes, Doumon produced an enormous brush.  "Talisman of Night!"  He moved the brush rapidly through the air, creating a hovering symbol for night.

"Talisman Spell!" shouted a second voice.

A yin-yang symbol appeared beneath Antylamon and she was sucked through it just as the Talisman of Night came at her.

"Hmph.  Taomon."  Doumon said upon seeing the maneuver.

Doumon looked over his shoulder toward the shrine.  Taomon stood there with MarineAngemon floating at her side.  Another yin-yang symbol materialized on the side of her opposite MarineAngemon and from it sprung the exhausted but alright Antylamon.

"Doumon!" Taomon shouted.  "What do you mean by coming here?!"

"I've come to offer you one final chance!  In my visions I have seen the end of time, and it is fast approaching.  Rumors are spread of an ancient beast known as the Destroyer rising again to consume this world.  I've told you this day would come, Taomon."

"Your tactics will not work on these digimon, Doumon!  We are strong against your doomsday prophecy!  I too have seen the coming danger, but it can be survived."

"Only those who follow my teachings will survive!  This is the time of the great cleansing!  Only we true digimon will be spared."

"You are not wanted here, prophet.  Leave us now."

"Behold!  In my dreams I have seen four eyes!  From the north there arose a green eye; from the east came a blue eye; from the south a red eye; and, from the west there came a white eye.  But all were swallowed up by a great blackness deeper than any I've ever known!  Only at the end did I see that the darkness was an eye itself!  It is the _Fifth Eye!"_

"I too know of this eye," said Taomon.  "Behold!"

She pulled out her entire deck of tarot cards and tossed them all up into the air.  As they drifted back down to the ground it looked like each and every one of them was landing facedown except for one card: the Eye.

"Each time I cut the deck, the Eye comes to the top.  It is always there.  I sense a great evil filling the air."

"And you dare to question me now?!"

"But you're wrong, Doumon!" Antylamon asserted.  "We can win if we all fight together."

"Then I have failed here.  Know that I will feel no pity for you sinners when the cleansing comes to sweep you all away.  Demon Gate Escape!"

Doumon snapped his fingers and a swirling, blue portal appeared in the air behind him.  He stepped back into it and was gone.  Taomon let out a great sigh of relief.

Back at the Ivory Tower, Angemon had finished relating his news to his companions and had rushed off to speak with Goldramon about his new training regiment.  Angewomon, meanwhile, had taken to slowly wandering the tower's plazas alone.  She saw other digimon as they walked past her, observed the beautiful plants and architecture.  It was almost like looking at everything for the first time again.

"You lost?" asked a familiar voice.

Angewomon jumped, but quickly realized it was only Kuzamon.  He sat on a bench near where she was walking.

"No, no.  I was just taking a walk."

"Sounds like a good way to get lost."

"Yeah…"

Angewomon averted her eyes.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"That expression."

"It's nothing."

"I'm a listener, Angewomon.  You look like you could use someone like that right about now."

"…Very well."  She sat down beside him.  "It all just seems so strange.  Ever since I met Angemon again, I've been so happy.  I don't think I ever really realized what we were doing with all that research.  But now that Lucemon has confirmed this immediate danger…it just hit me."

Kuzamon nodded.

"I thought we were done with all of this long ago.  Everything was supposed to be okay after we beat NightmareOmnimon."

"I doubt that's the first time you've said almost that exact thing."

"You're right.  Myotismon, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, the Emperor, MaloMyotismon…we thought each of them would be the last fight we had to endure.  Now here we are again.  If we do come through this in one piece, who's to say there won't be another?"

"Not I."

"The ironic thing is that it seems the only time I've spent with my old friends is the times when there's something evil out to get us.  We've all drifted apart these past few years, and I was so happy to see Angemon again.  It felt like old times."

Kuzamon nodded again.

"Maybe it would be a worse fate if this really is the last time we have to fight.  I may never see the others again if there's nothing to team up for."

"Meetings don't merely happen, Angewomon.  They must be made to work."

"You're right.  I haven't put in the effort to see the others enough.  And now I don't even know where most of them are."

"Don't worry about it.  If you truly are friends, you'll find your way to each other again."  Kuzamon rose to his feet.

"Where are you off to?  More plants to care for?"

"Nope.  My work is all done here."

"What's that?"

"My time in this place has come to an end.  I've met my successor, and I know that our future is in good hands."

"Your successor?"

"I know you know about my past, but I don't mind.  Being the digimon of hope is a job for the young, not an old mon like me.  Now is the time for me to move on to the next phase of my life."

"So you're leaving us."

"Be sure to take care of Angemon.  He's got what it takes to do great things, but he won't make it without you around to back him up."

"Will we ever meet again?"

"I haven't decided yet.  I'll see you later."

Kuzamon gave a friendly smile and casually waved as he turned and began to walk toward the exit.  He was off to parts unknown, and his role in the future was uncertain for the time being.  Something about that smile, though, made Angewomon doubt in the last words he'd said to her.


	17. Suckamuck

[Just a few things before we get started.  First of all, I want to say a big ol' thanks to all those who've reviewed the last few chapters (Adarin, SilverWarrior, rob, and Blue Solo for that most glowing review).  Second, I must give credit where it is due.  A portion of one of the scenes in this taken from a spiel by Daria O'Neil (you wouldn't know her unless you live in Oregon and listen to alternative rock radio, but I still have to give credit).  It's the scene when one of the less pleasant female cast members asks for a drink (you'll know it when you see it).  I must also give credit to Home Movies, one particular episode of which inspired the psychiatrist scene that comes near the end.  And now that the legal flim-flam is out of the way…]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Back at the small village, things were just beginning to recover from Doumon's attack.  Taomon sat on the shrine's stoop with MarineAngemon and Antylamon, who was even then dressing her wounds.

"I swear, he gets crazier every time he comes around," Antylamon said angrily.

"He is not crazy; merely frightened…as we all should be," Taomon said mysteriously.

"You're saying you agree with him?"

"No, of course not.  If we do as he suggests we would only doom ourselves.  Instead we must find the source of this evil and combat it."

"Um, Taomon?" asked Palmon, who just then came up with Hawkmon.

"What?  Oh, it's you.  I am sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay, but who was he?"

"That was Doumon, a fallen monk.  He and his followers believe we digimon have strayed too far from our ancestral ways and must return to lives of senseless fighting and living in nature rather than cities.  He is very dedicated to his beliefs and will fight to win over everyone he can."

"What do you mean by coming here?" Antylamon asked of Palmon.

"We need to speak with MarineAngemon."

MarineAngemon cocked his head to the side and then floated closer to Palmon.

"We know you've come from the Ivory Tower in Polaris, and we know you know Angewomon.  We are friends of hers and need to speak to her urgently.  So we would like to go with you when you return to—"

"I'm sorry to be rude," said Antylamon, "but who is 'we?'"

"It's me and Haw—"

As Palmon turned to look at Hawkmon she realized he was gone.

"Where has that creep gone to?!"

"Over here, Palmon!" Hawkmon called out.

Everyone looked down the road to where the voice came from.  They saw Hawkmon's sack of relics on the ground where he'd left it and it was moving.

"Found it!" Hawkmon announced, popping out of the satchel with a stone tablet in tow.

"Hawkmon this is no time to be trying to pawn off that junk!"

Hawkmon began to walk toward the group, dragging the heavy tablet behind him.  "This, my dear, is no mere junk.  It's a true find if ever I saw one."

"HAVE you ever seen one?" asked Palmon.

"Very comical," Hawkmon said sarcastically.  He reached the others after a short walk and let his prize drop in front of them.  "I came upon this little gem while looking through some very curious ruins in the east.  Judging from the decay of the structure, I'd say it was nearly a thousand years old."

"Old indeed, but what does any of this mean?" asked Taomon.

"Cast your eyes upon it and all shall become quite clear."

The other four all leaned in to take a look.  What they saw was a worn diagram and some chiseled words.

"Within the flame sleeps the unblinking eye.  It waits to be awakened by Destruction's hand," Taomon read.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Antylamon.

"I haven't the slightest idea," said Hawkmon.

"Then what are we supposed to do with this?" asked Palmon.

"I believe this is an important clue," said Taomon.

"It is?" asked Antylamon.

"Look closer at this diagram.  It is worn, but I believe I see four carved eyes, one in each cardinal direction.  The fifth is depicted below."

"So it is," said Hawkmon.

"But what are those things around it?" asked Palmon.

"Symbols…" said Taomon.  "I can just barely make them out, but they seem to signify a mountain…a canyon…death…a dry river…and fire."

"There are two pictographs here as well," said Antylamon.  "That thing in the south looks like a sun and the thing in the north is a moon."

"A sun in the south?" asked Taomon.  "But the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  It never appears in the southern sky."

"Unless one is in the far north!" Hawkmon realized.

"You're right!" said Antylamon.  "But the mountain and the canyon…they seem more befitting of the west."

"Just as fire is more common in the south and rivers, dry or not, are everywhere in the east." Antylamon added.

"This is clearly a map of some sort," said Antylamon.  "But until we know more about this _Fifth Eye, we can't be certain of anything."_

"Then let us take it to someone who does know," said Taomon.  "Lord Lucemon."

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Palmon.  "We can't even get into the tower."

"If we are meant to bring this clue before Lucemon, then we shall," Taomon said sagely.

"Then let us hurry to Polaris," said Antylamon.

The sun continued its trek across that sky and then below the western horizon.  It was so in the Digital Wolrd, and it was so in the real one.  That night saw Jack and Amber, both looking unnecessarily stylish, at JFK International Airport.  Jack had just gotten a snack from one of the airport stores to munch on and sat very relaxed, just watching the people go by.  Amber on the other hand was pacing back and forth, checking her watch at every turn and occasionally looking over at the arrivals on the nearby monitor.

"I don't believe this," she said in an agitated voice.  "He landed ten minutes ago.  Where is he?"

"Relax, honey.  You know how he likes to take things easy."

"Well it can be a real inconvenience sometimes."

"You could learn a thing or two…" Jack said inaudibly.

Amber paced a little more and Jack sucked down the last of his pop.

"I mean it's just so rude!"

Jack just watched her going back and forth as he munched on his french-fries.

"So what time did you tell Joe to meet us?" she wondered.

"Nine o'clock."

"Are you kidding me?  It's already 8:15!  You know we'll never make it in time."

"Just think of it as being fashionably late."

"Don't be cute.  This could be really embarrassing for me."

"See?  Here he comes now."

Amber spun around to look.  She saw him after a few seconds and was visibly surprised by how he looked.  He wore an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt over a white undershirt, baggy tan shorts and a pair of flip-flops.  His sandy blonde hair stood in contrast to his recently tanned skin and shining blue eyes.  He had a tote bag slung over his shoulder and had a distinctively relaxed walk.  He hadn't seen them yet.

"Willis!" Jack called out as he stood.  "Over here!"

Willis turned to where the voice came from and smiled.  "Jackrabbit!"

The mention of his old nickname made Jack smile.  Willis walked over.  He gave Amber a peck on the cheek and gave Jack a great big bear-hug.

"Have a good time?" Jack asked, hardly able to breathe.

"Hawaii is the best!" Willis asserted after releasing Jack.  "You should've come along, Jackrabbit."

"How was your flight?" asked Amber.

"Twelve hours in coach with two layovers.  It's the only way to fly."

"Well we'd better head down to baggage claim," Amber announced somewhat impatiently.

"Why?" asked Willis.

"Uh, to pick up your bags?"

"These are my bags."  Willis shook the tote on his arm.

"A week in Hawaii and that's all you brought?"

"Well I didn't really need a whole lot of clothes, if you know what I mean."  Willis was grinning like an idiot.

"Oh please," Jack said with a smirk.

"Can we go now?" asked Amber.

"Right."  Jack quickly tossed his garbage in the nearby trashcan and the three of them started walking toward the exit.

Nearly an hour later they were deep inside the city at one of their favorite nightclubs.  It wasn't a real rave environment, but rather it was fairly calm and clean with dim but warm lighting.  There was a band playing a variety of music types with a dance floor right in front of them and tables around the edges.  The bar lay across the dance floor from the band, and there was a baseball game playing on the TV bolted to the screen.

"There he is," said Amber.

Jack and Willis looked over at the bar, where they saw Joe.  He was talking to an attractive woman with dark hair and glasses.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" asked Willis.

"Who is that?" asked Amber.

"I have no idea," said Jack.

"You don't think they just met, do you?"

"What, at the bar?" asked Willis.  "Not a chance."

"Then where?"

"We could always go over there and find out," Jack suggested.

"Works for me!" Willis said before he jogged on ahead of the other two.

"Come on.  Let's go say hi," said Amber.

Joe was very engrossed in his conversation with this girl.  He didn't even sense Willis coming up behind him.

"How ya doin', buddy?!" Willis shouted to Joe with a hearty slap on the back.

Joe nearly fell out of his chair and right into the woman's lap, but he was able to catch himself in time.  He turned around to face his attacker, but stopped when he saw who it was.

"Willis!" he shouted.

"C'mere!"  Willis grabbed Joe in another bear-hug for a few seconds before letting him go.

"Oh!" said Joe after being released.  "Amy, this is Willis.  Willis, Amy."

"Konbanha," Amy said with a gentle handshake.

"Konbanha," Willis said in return.  "Hey Joe, where'd you find a girl who speaks Japanese?"

"I didn't," Joe said with a grin.  "So I made one."

Amy also smiled.  "I go to school with Joe.  He's helping me with my Japanese and I'm helping him with his neuroanatomy."

"Neuroanatomy?" asked Willis.  "Hey Joe, I thought you already aced—"

Joe gave Willis a stare that made him stop in his tracks.

"Uh, the, uh…oh yeah.  It was the, um, other class that you passed last semester."

"Hey, Joe!" Jack greeted.

Willis breathed a sigh of relief.

"And who is this lovely lady?" asked Jack.

"Hi there.  I'm Amy," she said warmly.

"This is Jack and Amber," Joe explained.  "They're the ones I was waiting for."

"Oh.  So I guess you don't me around any more then," Amy said sullenly.

"Are you kidding?" asked Willis.  "We'd love to have you join our little group!"

"You don't mind, Joe?" she asked.

"Of course not," said Joe.  "It would be an honor."

"Ooh!  Listen!" said Amber.  "I love this song!  Come on, Jack!  Let's dance!"

"Alright," Jack said unenthusiastically.

As Jack followed his fiancée out onto the dance floor, Amy turned to Joe.  "You know, I wouldn't mind dancing either."

"I don't really dance," said Joe.

"That's too bad," she said.

"Well if Joe's not gonna step up, I guess it's my turn," said Willis.  "Would you care to dance, my dear?"

Amy blushed a little.  "Sure, I guess.  Do you mind, Joe?"

Joe looked like he was about to say something, but thought better of it.  "You two have a good time."

"If you insist," said Willis.

Willis took Amy by the hand and led her out onto the dance floor.  A fast-paced song was playing and there was a mob of people already dancing to the rhythm.  The other couple was out there too, with Amber being very much into the whole act and taking the role of the leader while Jack just basically went through the motions.  Amy started to dance along with the crowd, swaying and twisting but without any real enthusiasm.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Willis.

"Dancing," she said, her cheeks suddenly turning red.

"That's not dancing," said Willis, making a little room for himself.  "THIS is dancing!"

Willis grabbed Amy by the hand and they were off.  If one thing could be said for Willis, it was that he had some impressive moves in his repertoire.  Spins, twists, splits…it soon became apparent that he could do them all.  Joe looked longingly at Amy, who was a bit overwhelmed by Willis' style and was barely able to keep up.  Nevertheless, she was enjoying it immensely thanks to Willis' level of control out on the dance floor.

Through the first song and into the next, Joe was left sitting alone at the bar, watching Willis do his thing.  Jack appeared soon enough under the pretense of getting a drink for himself.

"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Jack as he waited for the bartender.

"Take a look."  Joe pointed to the dancing pair.

"Whoa.  Willis' got some killer moves."

"Yeah, and he's using them on Amy."

"Such a waste…"

"I wish I were half as good.  I mean just look at her out there!  She's having a great time."

"I wish I could tell you how he does it."  Jack picked up the drink.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be getting back to my own little lady."

And once again Joe was alone, until the end of the song at least.  Willis and Amy came off the floor and Amy ran off to the bathroom, a smile on her face.  Willis meanwhile ordered a couple drinks.

"What do you think you're doing, Joe?" Willis asked impatiently.

"Nothing."

"Exactly!  Where's your head?"

"Huh?"

"I thought doctors were supposed to be smart!  I'm lobbing you an easy one here, Joe!"

"What are you talking about?"

Willis groaned.  "I'm not out there for my health you know!  I've loosened the lid on the pickle jar, but you need to come in and pop it open!"

"You mean you want me to dance with Amy?"

"Bingo, Einstein!  Swoop in and take my place on one of the slow songs!  I know you can't mess that up!"

"But I'm really bad!  You've seen me dance!"

"I can't dance either!"

"You looked like you were doing pretty good for someone who can't dance."

"That's because I've got one thing you don't: confidence!  Now go out there, play the knight in shining armor, and act confident!"

"How?"

"Um…okay!  Think of Sean Connery.  He could be stripped naked and doused in barbecue sauce in a room full of lions and he wouldn't even blink.  That's the kind of confidence you've got to show!"

"I don't really feel like dancing after a mental image like that," Joe said with a sickly expression.

"Look, just do it!  You like this girl, right?!"

"…Yeah."

"Are you gonna let her be the one that got away?"

Joe thought back to the other one that got away.  He wasn't about to do that to himself again.  "Alright.  I'm coming in on the slow song."

"Perfect!"

Amy reappeared just then and wrapped her arm around Willis'.

"Shall we go?" she asked, still somewhat shyly.

Just then the next song came on.  It was a slow one.

"Actually, I think I'll sit this one out," said Willis.  "Why don't you and Joe go for it?"

Both Amy and Joe blushed.

"I suppose," said Amy.

"Sounds good to me," Joe remarked with a little chuckle.

"Then get going!" said Willis, giving Joe a good slap on the back and then sending the two of them off to the dance floor.

Feeling very proud of himself, Willis took a sip from the drink he'd ordered.  Just as he started to relax into his seat, Jack and Amber came up to the bar and sat down.

"Do you want a drink, sweetie?" asked Jack.

"Yes, Jacky," she responded in a baby voice.

"What would you like?"

"I don't know."

Jack began to list off drink after drink and Amber said no to each and every one of them.  Willis tried to focus his attention on Joe and Amy, who had gotten into the swing of things on the dance floor.  Over a five minute interval, Jack listed each and every drink that exists and Amber said no to them all, growing increasingly irritated that Jack could not select a solution to satisfy her needs.

"Just pick something out for me," Amber finally said.

Jack ordered a few drinks and they came a few seconds later.  Amber took a barely lip-moistening sip of hers and made a face like she was going to burst into tears.

"You don't like it."

"No Jack, it's fine!"

Jack took a sip of his own drink and turned to Willis.  "Do you think I should've taken the stereo face in the car with me or do you think it'll be safe by itself out there in the car?"

Amber stood up abruptly and glared at Jack before stomping off to the bathroom, where she stayed for the next few minutes.  Jack took no action but to continue sitting and talking with Willis.  After that relatively brief yet peaceful interlude, she reappeared with a hateful look in her eyes and began to scream at Jack.

"Don't you care about me enough to come into the bathroom and find out what's wrong?!"

"Honey, I—"

"Don't you 'honey' me, Jacob Eric Cole!"

"Who do you—"

"We're leaving, Jack!"

Jack quickly gave up.

"Listen Willis, I've gotta take Amber home.  Do you think you can catch a ride with Joe?"

"Sure, just let me grab my bag out of your trunk first."

"Yeah.  Sure."

A few minutes later, Jack and Amber were gone and Willis was back at the bar with his bag beneath the seat.

"What happened to Jack?" asked Joe, who had just come back with Amy.

"Suckamuck," Willis explained.

"Ah."

"What's suckamuck?" asked Amy.

"It's just a little nickname we've got for Amber," said Joe.

"Why?"

"Because she IS a suckamuck," said Willis.  "I don't know if you've noticed, but everyone on Earth hates her except for Jack.  And if anyone ever says anything bad about her he goes nuts."

"Jack can never go anywhere without suckamuck," Joe elaborated.  "And whenever they do go out, suckamuck makes certain that Jack doesn't have any fun or at least doesn't do anything that's not entirely focused on her."

"That's so sad," said Amy.  "Why doesn't he break up with her or something?"

"They're engaged, first of all," said Joe.  "And Jack's got a thing about doing what's honorable all the time."

"You know what his other problem is?" asked Willis.  "Lack of confidence."

Willis winked at Joe and took another drink.

Day 29 

Another morning arrived to once again find Jack and Amber in the office of Dr. Lewis.

"Welcome back," said Dr. Lewis.  "I feel there may be some tension in the air this morning.  Jacob, would you care to share what may be going on?"

"Not really, Anthony," Jack said in a somewhat condescending tone.

"I accept and approve of your wishing to call me by my first name in order to reciprocate for my addressing you by yours.  Perhaps it would make you both more comfortable to refer to me in friendly terms as 'Tony'."

Jack and Amber stared at him from where they sat on the couch.

"Okay.  Now then, perhaps Amber could explain.  Amber?  Has Jacob done anything to upset you recently?"

Jack's eyebrow twitched just slightly.

"Well…" Amber said, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible.  "I just get the feeling that he doesn't care for my needs anymore.  Just the other night he dragged me along to pick up a friend of his at the airport, and—"

"Dragged you along?!"

"Now Jacob, I believe Amber is still talking.  You can respond with your own feelings when she is done."

"If you insist, Anthony."

"Do you see?  He never listens to how I'm feeling.  I just can't stand it sometimes.  May I have a tissue?"

Dr. Lewis offered a box of tissues to Amber, who used one to blow her nose.

"Oh please…" Jack remarked.

"Now I want you two to remember that I'm not here to take sides.  I'm here only to help you communicate better with one another."

"You're doing a bang-up job, Anthony."

Dr. Lewis cleared his throat.  "Jacob, how do you feel about what Amber has said?"

"Honestly?  I think she's just being another idiotic high school drama queen who nobody should have to deal with!"

"How DARE you speak to me like—"

"Please!" Dr. Lewis interrupted.  "Remember that when we label one another, we disable our lines of communication.  Now once again, I must reiterate the main problems we are having."

"Are you part of 'we'?" asked Jack.

"Um, no, but—"

"Then it's us, not you.  Discover a new pronoun."

"This is the first problem.  Jacob, we've concluded you have a problem with confidence, and when you do express yourself you come off as sounding hostile toward others, when in fact you're only hostile toward yourself.  In addition, you both have difficulty making your feelings known to one another.  I have an exercise for us to try.  I would like you both to come sit on the floor in a circle with me now."

Dr. Lewis got out of his chair and sat cross-legged on the floor.  Amber joined him immediately and Jack followed, though with a hint of reluctance.

"Now as we sit in this 'circle of communication' as I call it, I want—"

"Isn't it a triangle?" asked Jack.

"Why, yes Jacob, I suppose that is another way of looking at it.  I thank you for your input."

"You're welcome, Anthony."

"Right.  Anyway, I want us to go around and share our feelings.  We'll start with something easy: we'll complement one another.  Who would like to start?"

Neither Jack nor Amber looked very interested.

"That's all right.  I will begin and we can go from there.  Jacob, I feel you are a very fascinating person with a lot of goals, and someday when you can control yourself I know you will be truly happy with your choice in Amber as your lifelong friend and partner."

There was no way to describe the disgusted look Jack shot back.

"Okay Jacob, now you compliment me."

"Compliment?  Compliment?!  You think THAT was a compliment?!"

"I feel that was—"

"You said I don't have any control over myself and I'm not happy with Amber!  What the hell kind of a compliment is that?!"

Dr. Lewis let out a long sigh.  "Perhaps we should try this another way.  I want us all to sit on the furniture once again."  He did just that and so did his patients.  "Now I'm going to hand out these slips of paper and pens.  I want you to draw what you're feeling right now and then we can share."

Dr. Lewis handed out the utensils.  Jack tried to calm himself down a little before he began to write, but Amber jumped right into it.  Unfortunately, it became apparent after a few seconds that her pen was out of ink.  She looked ready to cry.

"Amber?  Is there something wrong?" asked Dr. Lewis.

"It's…it's…it's the *hic* pen!  It's—it's—it's—"

Then Amber completely lost it and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh dear," said Dr. Lewis.  "Jacob, I feel it would be in your best interest to offer your support to Amber in her time of need with a kind gesture."

Jack who, had already started to write, suddenly lost it.  Abandoning what he had written before, he now wrote an obscene suggestion in large angry letters with more than a few explicatives.  He then balled the paper up in his hand and bounced it off Dr. Lewis' head.  Upon seeing this, Amber's crying turned to laughter.

"Jacob, I don't think—"

Jack jumped to his feet.  "It's Jack you damned moron!  J-A-C-K!"

"This anger is—"

"Shut up!  I'm mad as hell and I like it!"

"I don't feel that—"

"I said SHUT UP!  I'm not done yet!"

"But—"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!  No one in the universe talks like this!  Is this really supposed to help us work out our problems?!  What's the thinking you quack?!"

"You tell him!" Amber said, perking up.

"Don't you talk to me!"

"What-ever!  I'll be downstairs in the lobby if you need me!"

"Well maybe I won't need you!"

"Then I'll be in a cab!"

Amber ran out the door and slammed it behind her, knocking Dr. Lewis' diploma off the wall.

"Wow…" said Dr. Lewis.  "I think we've had a real breakthrough here today.  But I think it's important that we channel this energy in a positive—"

"Do you EVER shut up?!"

"Jacob, I—"

"How's my confidence NOW, 'Anthony'?!"

Jack stormed out as well, slamming the door again.

Meanwhile, the desolate wastes of Driver were baking beneath another punishing day of overwhelming sunshine.  In this harsh, inhospitable environment, a city, even a sparsely populated one, was an odd site.  And yet they were there.  One of these in particular served as a major hub for the Blimpmon runs in the south.  It was to this city that Setomon had come only a couple days earlier, and it was in this city that he remained.  But just as he had come to this place, another stranger was nearing the edge of town.

"It's about time," the tall, humanoid digimon said in an odd accent.

The digimon walked forward into  the edge of town, where he encountered a number of other digimon, mostly of lesser forms than he.

"Hey!  Youse guys over there!" he shouted to a pair of passing digimon.  "Is dis the place with the Blimpmon."

The passing digimon took one look at the shadowy figure and ran off in fear.

"Jeez.  You ask a simple question…"

He walked over to another digimon, a Meramon, who leaned against a wall of a nearby building.

"Hey!  Where're the Blimpmon?"

"Beat it," the Meramon replied.

The digimon grew a tad irritated by this…and he was not the kind of guy you'd want to irritate.  With tried and true speed he grabbed his gun from its holster and shoved it right in Meramon's face.  Meramon of course sprung back with a terrified expression.

"This'll be the last time I ask.  Where…are…the…Blimpmon?"

Meramon shakily lifted his hand and pointed.  The digimon looked to where he pointed and then re-holstered his firearm.  Without another word he started walking in that direction.  Let the authorities take heed, for Beelzemon had come to town.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As I am writing this on the two-year anniversary of September the eleventh, I feel it only appropriate to express my sorrow for all lives lost as a result and my most heartfelt sympathies for the survivors.


	18. Apocalypse Rain

[Just one note before we begin.  A special thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter.  I really do appreciate your continued patronage.  Now then, on with the show…]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Back in the east, Piximon's training had grown more and more difficult by the day.  Veemon and Wormmon now bore numerous injuries from the process and they were gaunt and worn from lack of food and sleep.  And now they were once again knee-deep in their rigorous training schedule.

"Again!" Piximon ordered.

Veemon forced his body back up into a handstand, but toppled almost immediately.  He just lay there on the ground, struggling to breathe and having a defeated expression upon his face.

"Pathetic…" said Piximon.  "Wormmon!  Heads up!"

Piximon selected a small, round stone on the ground and struck it toward Wormmon with his spear.  Wormmon lay on the ground already badly beaten.  He tried his very best to dodge out of the way of the projectile, but his body simply refused to move.  The rock struck him right between the eyes.  With his defeated pupils lying around him, Piximon let out a long sigh.

"That does it," he said.  "I guess you two just aren't ready to be trained."

"What?!" both demanded with renewed vigor.

"I can't train you as you are now.  You'd be better off just going home and never fighting again."

"Never!" shouted Wormmon.

"How could you say that?!" shouted Veemon.  "After all we've been through in this training of yours!  We've done everything you've said!'

"We've had to go through a lot of pain for this!"

"And even though it doesn't seem to be working, we still believe in you!"

"We're not giving up, and we're not going to let you give up on us either!"

"I don't train those who don't know their own strengths."

"Our own strengths?!" shouted Veemon.  "Our strength lies in working together!"

"Veemon's right!  As long as we can depend on each other we can always win!"

"I don't care what you say!  As long as we stay friends, we'll never be alone!  When one of us fights, so will the other!  That's our strength."

Piximon was silent for a moment, and then a smile crossed his face.

"It's about time," he said.

"What?" the other two responded.

"I would've hoped you'd get it a lot sooner.  I hate seeing my students get hurt."

"What are you talking about?" asked Veemon.

"I don't understand," said Wormmon.

"You two never really understood that your strength comes from your teamwork.  On your own you weren't even strong enough to break a few rocks.  You just get hurt.  I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"You mean all of this was just to make us figure out something that we already knew?!" Veemon cried.

"How well could you have known it if you were willing to follow my orders blindly rather than do what was best for each other and for yourselves?"

Veemon was visibly humbled.

"Now then, it's time to start the real training.  By the end of it, I expect you two will be able to take on any enemy.  Are you ready?"

"Yeah…"

"I said, ARE YOU READY?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good!  Then let's start with lunch."

Veemon and Wormmon both perked up immediately.  They started to think that they may just like this new training program.

It was right about that time that MarineAngemon led Angewomon out onto the terrace surrounding the entrance to the Ivory Tower.  There waited Antylamon, Taomon and Palmon.  Hawkmon was also there, but he was busy trying his sales-pitch on passers-by.

"How strange.  I certainly didn't expect you all to be here," said Angewomon.  "Tell me, what has happened?"

"Signs of the looming disaster, I fear," said Taomon.  "They grow more frequent with each passing day.  Unless some action is taken soon, there may be no stopping what lies ahead."

"What do you suggest?"

"Here," said Antylamon, presenting the stone tablet she carried to Angewomon.  "Take this.  We have reason to believe it is connected with the _Fifth Eye_, a force undoubtedly related to this Destroyer rumors tell of."

Angewomon took the slab and studied it for a moment.  "What should I do with this?"

"We feel the markings may reveal the location of this _Fifth Eye, but without a proper interpreter it is useless to us.  Surely Lucemon would be able to find the meaning of the tablet, and if so we could reach the __Eye before the Destroyer does."_

"Perhaps."

"It's worth a try," said Palmon.

"Still, we must focus on finding the Destroyer at the moment."

"But if you find the _Eye_, the Destroyer would come to you," said a wise female voice.

All eyes turned toward where the voice came from.  There stood two of the Guardians, one with green fringe on her robe and the other with brown fringe.  The woman with green fringe stepped forward.

"Some of you know me already," she said, "and some do not.  I am Minari: Guardian of the Digital World, retainer of the Sovereign of the East, and champion of the crest of light."

"And I am Gennai," said her companion.  "Listen well to what Minari has to say, friends."

"What has brought you here?" asked Taomon.

"You have," said Minari.  "I sensed you had all gathered at this place, and thus I came to speak to you all together.  But where is Angemon?"

"He's inside training," Angewomon explained.

"Then I must trust you to deliver my message to him."

"And what message is that?" asked Antylamon.

"That the time draws very near indeed.  That slab you hold may yet be our salvation.  If you can learn of its meaning, then surely we can stem the problem from escalating out of hand as it did ten years ago with the Corruptor."

"Angewomon, tell me," said Gennai, "have you been aiding Angemon in his research?  What have you discovered regarding the _Fifth Eye?"_

"Not much, I'm afraid.  What we have learned is really little more than a guess, but we believe the _Eye may be an artifact that grants its possessor complete knowledge regarding this world.  In effect, those who bear it become god-like."_

"Or truly devilish, in this case," Gennai noted.

"The name seems to be some kind of reference to how each Sovereign had four eyes—one to watch over each quadrant.  The fifth would be that which watches over the entire world at once."

"Then is this artifact truly evil?" asked Antylamon.  "Doesn't it depend on the owner?"

"Evil or not, such power is too much for any one digimon," said Taomon.  "It would be safest to either destroy the cursed thing or leave it buried."

"I can't shake the feeling that we are missing something…" said Gennai.

"How do you mean?" asked Minari.

"It…just doesn't feel right.  Over a dozen of the evilest digimon ever to exist apparently sacrificed their lives for this Grand Scheme dreamed up by the Destroyer.  Yet the end goal is no more than acquiring some artifact which may or may not exist?  We don't see the whole picture yet."

"Perhaps the _Fifth Eye_ is not the ends, but the means," Minari suggested.  "It may be the Destroyer's intention to wield such power and establish himself as a god of sorts."

"But why would so many others lay down their lives for his glory?  I doubt the Deceiver and the Corruptor would pass up a chance at such a power.  And besides that, why would so much groundwork need to be laid by all of the Destroyer's predecessors just so he could acquire such an item?  No…there is something very wrong here."

"You make a persuasive case," said Minari.  "But we must still proceed according to plan.  If we are to stop this crisis we must attack its source: the Destroyer himself.  After that we can worry about the _Fifth Eye_ and how to dispose of it."

"Progress has been made," Gennai reported.  "But we have yet to pinpoint his location.  If any of you wish to join the fight, be prepared to move at a moment's notice."

"See to it that this tablet is placed in Lucemon's hands.  We will contact you as the situation develops further."

Gennai nodded once and he and Minari disappeared into their prismatic pillars.  Little did any of them realize that someone had been listening in the whole time.  Hidden by his illusory spells, Doumon recognized that he had learned what he needed and made a hasty escape through his Demon Gate.

Back in the south, a Blimpmon had finally reached the town where Setomon and over twenty other would-be guards had been waiting for it.  Competition would be fierce over those free tickets.

While some were out in town somewhere, most of those vying for the coveted position of guard stuck around in the Blimpmon office, which consisted of no more than a mud-brick building with a few chairs, couches, rugs, and assorted pieces of office equipment.

"Alright," Kokatorimon the hiring agent announced for all to hear.  "Listen up!  This is the last Blimpmon coming through here for the rest of the month and the status is…"

All ears perked up.

"All systems go and a full complement of guards."

There were many groans from around the room.

"However…"

Everyone instantly quieted again and looked hard at Kokatorimon.

"It seems that recent news of strange disturbances has forced us to increase security.  Therefore, two guards must be hired at this stopping point.  So you all know the rules.  Line up alphabetically and let's keep this organized.  Since you are extras, we'll only be offering free tickets instead of actual pay.  You ride for one stop and then you're off.  Any problems?"

The digimon began to line up alphabetically, a task which proved exceedingly difficult for Setomon, who had never exactly studied the alphabet.  It was all a moot point a second later when the office door burst open and in stepped the frightful visage of a digimon that only Setomon was unfamiliar with.

"It's Beelzemon!" shrieked a Gotsumon.

"Run for your lives!" added a Cerberumon.

The office immediately began to empty of all but the bravest of the brave and the ignorant, namely Setomon.

"Back again, Beelzemon?" Kokatorimon asked with a sigh.

"You guys know you'd be done for if it weren't for me watchin' yer sorry hides."

"Well we're looking for two guards at the moment."

"I'm the only one you'll need."

"I'm sure, but regulations demand—"

"Fine then."

Beelzemon reached behind him and grabbed the first living thing he touched: Setomon's face.  He dragged the startled and hapless Champion in front of him and presented him to Kokatorimon.

"This one'll be number two."

Kokatorimon sighed again.  "Very well."

Beelzemon let go of Setomon's face and the Champion dropped like a rock.  He rubbed his now sore muzzle with his paw and then looked up at Beelzemon for his first clear view.  The digimon was impressive to say the least, but more than a little sinister.  His body was quite humanoid, but his skin was a very pale purple.  He was clad in a full leather outfit with a red bandana tied around his left arm and a purple mask over his face.  His hair was blonde, his teeth were fangs, and each of his three eyes was a sickening yellow surrounding blood-red centers.  To top it all off, he was armed with a pair of nasty-looking double-barrel firearms.

Beelzemon turned and walked out as suddenly as he had come.  Those that remained were all still a bit shocked.  Then Kokatorimon finally spoke up.

"Better go after him kid.  I don't know why, but it seems you've got a ticket to ride and it'd be best not to waste it."

Setomon nodded and then ran off after Beelzemon, still a bit overwhelmed.  He emerged into the light of day a few seconds later and looked around for Beelzemon.  He spotted him to the right, walking toward where the Blimpmon had anchored.

"Hi!" Setomon greeted as he ran up to his mysterious benefactor.  "I guess I should thank you for picking me."

"Listen up, kid.  This here's the only time you're gonna get a free lunch in life, so don't go gettin' used to it."

Ever-resilient, Setomon refused to be put-off by Beelzemon's attitude.  "So this is my first time on a Blimpmon."

"Gee, I never would've guessed…"

"I take it you've done this a few times before."

Beelzemon only grunted in response.

"So is this your first time in this town?  It's mine, and I was wondering—"

"If I answer, would you shut up?"

"Uh, okay."

"Yeah, it's my first time through here.  End of discussion."

"Then how come everyone—"

"What are you, hard of hearing kid?"

"Okay, okay…"

Setomon followed along at Beelzemon's heels until they passed around a tall building that had thus far been obstructing Setomon's view.  Now able to see plainly, Setomon rushed forward upon catching his first sight of the Blimpmon.

"Wow…" he said with his mouth agape.

The Blimpmon was a most impressive sight.  Its enormous, rust-colored, mechanical body hovered next to a fifty-foot tower built as a walkway up to it.  Its massive propellers whirred at its sides; its arms anchored it to the tower; its on-board arsenal reflected the irrepressible sunlight.  The behemoth was a truly awesome sight to behold.

"I can't believe I get to ride on THAT!" Setomon exclaimed ecstatically.

Beelzemon just kept on walking forward through the streets, trying his best to ignore his young associate.  Setomon bounded along at his side, occasionally circling around him.  They eventually made it to the tower and began to walk up it.  As they reached the platform leading onto the giant digimon, Setomon grew even more excited.

"Man!  This is so awesome!  How come you're so calm about this?  Is it 'cause you've already done it so many times?  But still, don't you get even a little excited?  I mean, just look at this thing!  It can actually fly!  I've only flown once before and even then it didn't really count because Piximon's stupid bubble-doohickey didn't let any wind through.  So this'll be my first real time.  So how high does it go?  Above the clouds?  Man, that'd be something.  Not that there ARE any clouds.  Maybe I'll be able to see the whole continent from way up there…"

Setomon continued to ramble on as he and Beelzemon strode into the Blimpmon's undercarriage.  The inside was actually a rather lavishly decorated lounge area with windows on all sides.  A quick scan of a small diagram on the wall would've let Setomon know that there were living quarters below and the bridge lay above.  But he never was one to pay much attention to signs.

Still, Setomon followed Beelzemon up the spiral staircase to the crew area, where the four other guards—two Hagurumon, what appeared to be a variation on Ninjamon, and a digimon unlike any Setomon was familiar with—and the small bridge crew all stood around prior to take-off.

"Gasp!  I think that's Beelzemon!" said one Hagurumon. 

"I think you're right," said the other.

"I guess they must be expecting a rough flight…"

"…If they'd let someone like that on board."

"You don't think he's…?"

"Another guard?  Gotta be, unless he managed to steal enough money…"

"…For a ticket."

Beelzemon grimaced at the gossiping gear-faces and Setomon peered about in a confused manner.  The strange equipment was all very interesting to him, and he felt like he should investigate it.

"Hey.  No touching," the guard that looked like a Ninjamon warned.

"Sorry," Setomon said sheepishly.  "Hey, are you a Ninjamon?"

"Ninjamon?  Please.  If I couldn't tell you were a real greenhorn I'd give you a real close shave for that…real close."

Setomon looked the digimon up and down.  Aside from his outfit being purple, there was no obvious difference between this digimon and a Ninjamon.

"So what are you?"

"I am Kogamon, and I'm a far superior fighter to any mere Ninjamon.  Unlike them, I'm no pathetic thief.  I make my living by assassination and high-profile guard duty.  Anyone who gets on my bad side ends up feeling the full force of my Koga Style Offshoot."

"Thanks.  I wouldn't want to make that mistake again," Setomon said apologetically.  Then he turned to the brightly-dressed, mask-wearing, flower-wielding fourth guard.  "And who are you?"

"Me?" he asked in a strange, lilting voice.  "Why, I am Kabukimon, master of the deadly dancing arts."  He said this last part with a bow.

Setomon raised one eyebrow.  "The deadly dancing arts?"  He would have chuckled if it didn't seem so oddly serious.

"Indeed.  There are few things more dangerous that an opponent whose attacks have all the grace and finesse of a well-choreographed dance."

"I'll take your word for it."

"And what…"

"…About you?" asked the Hagurumon.

"Oh, I'm just Setomon."

"I see," Kabukimon noted.

Suddenly, a voice came in over the PA system: "Your attention please, ladies and gentlemon.  At this time, all passengers have boarded and the docking clamps have been released.  Departure will begin as soon as this announcement has ended.  We will be traveling at one thousand feet today.  Our scheduled route will take us directly through the heart of the Great Driver Wastes, meaning there will be a great view on the observation deck for those who enjoy the beauty of nature at its harshest.  The dining deck will open once we reach cruising altitude.  I'd like to remind all of our passengers that, due to recent reported activities in the area, we've taken on extra guards, so we expect a safe flight.  Approximate travel time to our destination of Oasis is twenty-seven hours, so sit back and get comfortable.  That is all."

As soon as the announcement ended the massive digimon lurched forward, knocking over the unprepared Setomon.  He recovered his composure quickly enough and tried to act like nothing happened.  Nevertheless he still felt the sting of embarrassment.

In the blackened halls of his ancient stronghold, the still-hidden monster known as the Destroyer wandered alone.  Even among his own minions he spread terror, and all of them did their best to stay as far away from him as possible.  The seething red glow about him made his underlings particularly edgy this day; something was either very wrong or very right.

Having reached a special chamber in the catacombs beneath his stronghold, the beast paused a moment.  He looked into the darkness, able to see everything around him with absolute clarity.

"Come closer, my pet…" his dry, venomous voice commanded of the terrible monster within.

There was a loud snort and a lot of shifting around, but the beast drew no closer.

"I said…" the Destroyer grew brighter and wrapped a long tendril around the monster's neck.  "Come here!"

With one yank the mammoth beast was brought crashing to the ground.  It snorted but stayed down.  After a moment it crawled as close to the Destroyer as it dared.

"That's better."

The monster began to grunt and shift about, seemingly very agitated.

"You've grown irritated by all this waiting, I believe," said the Destroyer.  "I suppose anything that fuels your need for more destruction will be helpful."

The beast, in spite of its size and sinister form, almost purred at the suggestion.  The Destroyer's red glow grew very dark and even more sinister then.

"_Born in the pit of fire and ash and pain,_

_I shall spread death on plagued wings._

_Let every last one of those weak things_

_Feel the strength of my Apocalypse Rain!_"

The surging energy around and within the Destroyer shifted and swirled, expanding and condensing at once, coalescing into an attack of frightful power.

Elena suddenly stood up from her work in the ruby-red halls of the Phoenix gate, former home of Zhuqiaomon.  She felt a great power suddenly awaken in some distant place.  She could sense a dark energy about it.

"Such dreadful power…" she said to herself.  "I hope you're safe, Ryo."

A column of light made up of the full color spectrum then flashed next to Elena.  It was only there for an instant, but it left behind a hulking Guardian with yellow trim on his robe.

"I take it you sensed it as well, Malkis," she said in a concerned tone.

"I came the second it began.  I sense it is still growing."

"This is most unsettling, but perhaps very fortunate for us."

"Provided it's not meant to eliminate us."

"Surely he would know we can detect his power.  Could this be a mistake on his part?"

"I doubt it.  Above all, the Destroyer is not stupid.  No doubt he is choosing to reveal himself."

"Then I feel most deeply for those to whom he is about to be revealed."

"Feel for them, Elena, but fear for the rest of us."

"How do you mean?"

"He wouldn't make himself known unless he was fully prepared for the battle ahead.  We may be out of time."

"Don't consider the battle to be lost before it is even fought.  In short order, we will know of the beast's lair, and it is there that we shall take this battle."

"I will go to consult with Lord Omnimon and Master Virgil.  With any luck our forces can be mobilized by the day's end."

"Be swift, Malkis."

Malkis gave a quick bow and vanished once again.

Not ten minutes had passed since the Blimpmon had departed from its stopping point.  Setomon could still see the town in the distance from where he stood at the rear window on the bridge.  He gave only a passing interest to the conversation going on behind him.

"So Kabukimon, what do you…"

"…Think about the rumors?"

"As waves on the sea, they are but mere passing fancy.  I'll see them, but owe them no more heed than any other."

"Don't be an idiot," Kogamon remarked.  "If you don't know what's going on around you, you end up dead."

"I shall trust mine own eyes rather than others' poisonous lies."

Setomon sighed.  This trip was already beginning to lose its luster, but at least he wasn't in any immediate danger for once.  He glanced at Beelzemon, leaning against the wall near the corner.  He had all three eyes closed and very well could have been sleeping.  The crew went about their business and the other four guards continued their conversation.

"So why would the Blimpmon business be hiring extra guards?" Kogamon asked.

"A simple tactic to allay passengers' fears," Kabukimon assured him.

"Such strange company as this…"

"…Have we never encountered before," the Hagurumon said to one another.

"If you want strange, just look in a mirror," Kogamon quipped.

Setomon stared out the window back toward the town he'd just left.  He sighed once again.  Then Beelzemon suddenly opened his eyes and stood upright.  He looked around at the others for a moment and saw that their demeanors were unchanged.  Without a word he turned to the spiral stairwell and headed up.  Curious, Setomon followed after him.

In short order, Beelzemon exited the undercarriage through a small hatch on the roof.  The wind rushed past him at a furious pace, forcing him to squint and struggle to walk forward.  He neared the front of the craft and scanned the horizon for something…anything.  Setomon had meanwhile emerged from the same hatch.  His hair got caught in his eyes, his fur was blown straight back, and he was forced to dig his claws into the hull, but he managed to hang on.  He tried to call out to Beelzemon, but his voice was quickly lost in the wind.  Just then, something reached out to and seized Beelzemon's attention.  He looked skyward for a moment, finding his view obscured by the Blimpmon's hulking body.  He then turned on his heel and ran toward the rear of the craft, completely ignoring Setomon's presence.  He stared back at the city on the horizon, a look of great anxiety in his eyes.  And then it happened.

It began simply enough.  A small golden light appeared high in the sky.  Then there was another and another and yet another.  Within a few seconds there were hundreds clustered over the small city and surrounding territory.

"No!" Beelzemon cried.

But it was much to late for that.  The first light fell toward the town, a shining spear from the heavens.  It struck the town dead-center, and when it did it exploded with a flash as great as the sun above and a boom like a thousand thunderstorms couldn't muster.  Before the ball of flame had a chance to die down another struck, and then another, and more came with every passing moment.  It was a firestorm unlike any before it.  The deadly shower obliterated everything in the city and swept out into the surrounding regions.  Some of the bolts even drifted dangerously close to the Blimpmon, narrowly missing it and detonating in the wastes below.  Each explosion sent out a powerful shock wave that tossed the Blimpmon about violently.  One particular blast right in front of the craft caused it to pitch up at a high angle and cost Setomon his tenuous grip on the hull.  He fell back, bouncing off the craft once or twice and going into a roll right off the back edge.  He was caught by the scruff of the neck at the very last minute though by Beelzemon's leather-clad hand.  He looked down for a moment at the burning lands below him, and then back up at his shadowy savior.  Beelzemon lugged Setomon back up to safety as the Blimpmon slowly corrected its pitch.

"Get back inside1  Now!" Beelzemon ordered.

Setomon was panting heavily.  "But what *pant* about you?"

"I'll be along in a minute."

Setomon nodded and clawed his way back toward the hatch.  As Setomon disappeared into the ship, Beelzemon turned back for one last look at the burning terrain where once there stood a city.  The terrible attack from the sky was finally petering out, but the scars it would surely leave behind would linger for a long time to come.

Day 30 

"So are you having a good time?" asked TK.

"The best," Kari said with a smile.

The two of them sat on the couch in their apartment, wrapped up in a blanket and watching Kari's favorite movie with a big bowl of half-eaten popcorn.  It was after midnight and a week to the day since TK's disastrous attempt at a proposal.

Aside from that incident at the club, the seven days since had actually gone pretty well.  TK was on fire when it came to romantic gestures, and Kari did seem to really enjoy herself.  Just as his brother had told him, TK was making sure things were done simple and comfortable.

"Need a little more blanket, sweetie?"

"Thanks," she said, accepting the token.

On the screen the heroine was gabbing with her gal-pals about how it's impossible to find a good man.  TK was about to take the opportunity to snuggle up a little closer to Kari, but it was she that made the move instead.  TK couldn't help but grin.

"I'm having a good time too," TK assured.

"I'm glad," she said, embracing him even tighter.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Matt was right all along.  Why was TK making so much of this?  It really was the easiest thing in the world.

Meanwhile, Davis sat at home napping on the couch with the television displaying an infomercial.  The remnants of a pizza lay on the table next to him and his dirty laundry could be seen flung on and around his rather limited furniture.  Just then the phone rang, causing Davis to jump just enough to roll right off the couch and onto the floor.  Rubbing the new bump on his head he made his way over to the wall-mounted phone.

"Hello?" he asked, picking up the receiver.

"Hey, Davis, It's Ken."

"What's the deal with calling me at 12:30?"

"You do it to me all the time, and I'm usually not alone when you do."

"So what do you want?"

"Well, best man, I just realized that you've been rather lazy when it comes to your duties."

"How's that?"

"My bachelor party!  I mean I wasn't hoping for much, but at least give me something here."

"Oh yeah.  Sorry about that but I've been…busy."

"Don't tell me you got fired again."

"No, it's not that."

"Then what?"

"Just stuff."

"Alright Davis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong.  And don't worry.  I'll get to work on your party right away.  So what's new?"

"Don't change the subject, Davis."

"What changing the subject?"

"And don't play dumb.  Tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened, okay?"

"Dammit Davis, just tell me what's wrong.  You know I can't stand it when you get moody."

"Look, it's late.  I'll talk to you later."

"Oh no you—"

Davis hung up the phone without letting Ken even finish.  He sighed and began to turn back toward the couch when the phone rang again.

"Crap…" he said to himself.  Then he picked up the phone again.  "What?"

"What do you mean 'what? '  Don't act like this, Davis.  No one likes seeing you this way."

"Apparently how I normally act doesn't get me all that well-liked either."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Dav—"

Davis hung up again, and this time he unplugged the phone cord.   He wandered back to the couch where he lay down once again and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Kari?" asked TK, back at their apartment.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, sweetie."

"Do you love me?"

Kari smiled.  "Of course I do."  She gave him a little kiss.

"Do you know that I love you?"

"Always."  She gave him another kiss.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Every last day."  There was a third kiss.

"Then will you marry me?"

TK pulled out the small jewelry box from beneath the blanket and popped it open for Kari.  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and answered.

"TK, I can't."


	19. The Unfriendly Skies

[Back again with chapter 19.  Do you feel the tension in the air?  Can you smell the ever-closer presence of the Destroyer?  Well, maybe not.  But I bet you can sense that I took extra long with this chapter.  Sorry about that, but college calls and I had a few papers and such to write.  In any case, it's done now and I really do appreciate the recent reviews.  Now then, it's time to get back to the action…]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was around that time that the fires where there once stood a small city were finally dying down.  The area hit by the Destroyer's attack had been wiped almost completely clean, the residents and any traces of civilization there were utterly obliterated.  All that remained under the flickering light of the scattered fires was a crater stretching miles across.  This was Mephismon's impression upon entering the scene.

"Unfathomable…" he said to himself.

He'd heard tales of what the Destroyer could do, but no story could have prepared him for the sheer magnitude of destruction he saw before him.  He did not know whether to rejoice in having such a master or to fear for his own safety.  Certainly, though, it fed his own desire to become stronger.

Mephismon couldn't help but smile.  Then he felt a burning pain coursing through his veins once again.  He collapsed to the ground, gripping his head in his hands.  As his eyes rolled back into his head a vision came upon him once again.  He saw the dark chamber of the Destroyer as before, where his master hovered before him.

"And now you see what I can do with only the slightest effort…" the beast said to him.  "Do you desire such power yourself?"

"With every fiber of my being, o lord.  I would slay every last living thing in this world if only for a taste of such perfection."

"And such should you be willing to do, but I have a much simpler task at hand for you."

"Tell me, master, and I will follow your orders to the letter."

"I spoke earlier of two digimon once joined to humans that I desired you not attempt to slay.  The first of these is Omnimon, and he is still far beyond your ability to confront.  The second, though, is different.  He was once as you are now, and I intend to make him so again.  He shall be rejoined unto the Demon Corps, which I personally constructed so many ages ago."

"Where shall I find this cretin?"

"You are close to him now…very close.  I'll send my peons to you in order to aid your drawing him out.  He is strong, though; too strong even for you to slay.  Send him to me, and I will deliver unto you the power that is your birthright.  You shall be welcomed once again as my champion in Demon Corps."

"He will be yours this very day."

"Then I shall hold you to that oath.  Now go!"

Back aboard the Blimpmon, the guards and crew stood in a circle, listening to an announcement being read by one of the bridge officers, a ToyAgumon.

"We have been ordered to proceed to our destination at maximum speed and immediately disembark once we arrive.  Authorities will be waiting to take the statements of everyone on board.  After that this Blimpmon will return to its home base with only a skeleton crew aboard.  No passengers or guards will be allowed to accompany us.  If you need another ride, you're on your own.  That is all."

"Such a shame that my eyes should behold a time as this one," Kabukimon noted with dismay.

"So I suppose it's…"

"…Every mon for himself," the Hagurumon stated.

"Looks like it," said Kogamon.

"So no one knows what did this?" asked Setomon.

"You heard it yourself," said Kogamon.  "We're the only living witnesses."

"Such dreadful power," Kabukimon sighed.  "I know not if even Omnimon himself could conjure up such a catastrophe."

"I'll bet I know who could though," Kogamon said, looking at Beelzemon out of the corner of his eye.

Beelzemon looked right back at Kogamon, all three of his eyes piercing through Kogamon's accusatory gaze.

"It couldn't have been Beelzemon," said Setomon.  "I saw it and he didn't have anything to do with what happened."

"Oh to be as young and blind as you, who sees not evil in even such a beast as that which you defend."

"But he saved my life!"

"Probably just wanted to prolong your suffering," Kogamon said with a huff.

"Keep talkin' and I'll show you what sufferin' really is…" Beelzemon growled.

"So the demon speaks," said one Hagurumon.

"An unusual act," added the other.

"I say we don't let this guy get to the next town," said Kogamon.  "If we do we'll just be digging a grave for every digimon there."

"Hey!" Setomon shouted.  "From what I've seen the only bad guy here is you, Kogamon!  I didn't see you up there!  I didn't see you save anyone from falling to their death!"

"The more you defend that beast the more I'm starting to think you're working with him.  I say we hang both of you out to dry."

"As fun as it'd be to see the tenderfoot gut you, Kogamon," said Beelzamon, "I'm not about to let you lay a hand on him after I went outta' my way to save his life."

"Uh-oh!  We've got a problem!" announced one of the crew.

"What is it now?" Kogamon demanded.

"We're picking up multiple bogies on radar.  They're heading directly for us from the southwest at a high rate of speed."

"It would seem the time has come to earn our pay," said Kabukimon.

"You just leave this to the professionals," Kogamon said, eying Beelzemon and Setomon.

"Fine by me," said Beelzemon.  "I ain't gonna waste my time on a few saps."

"Don't worry."

"We've got this covered," said the Hagurumon.

Setomon nodded.  The four guards headed for the exit to the roof where they would wage their battle.  Beelzemon seemed quite content to stand by, but Setomon wore a nervous air all around him.  He was constantly looking over the crew's shoulders over the ensuing minutes while they awaited the approaching attack.

"We now have visual confirmation," ToyAgumon said as he looked through a pair of binoculars into the starry night sky.  "It's a little hard to tell, but I believe the targets are all Airdramon.  They'll be too nimble to hit with our big guns.  I suppose we'll have to leave this up to the guards."

"Attention all passengers," a voice said over the PA system.  "Please return to your cabins immediately; there are a number of incoming hostiles.  The problem should be resolved soon, but until all is safe, please remain in a secure location.  That is all."

"I think I can see them," said Setomon, leaning up to the bridge window.

"They're coming in very fast," said ToyAgumon.  "But I don't see any organization in their flight pattern.  They must be savage digimon."

"If you say so."

Meanwhile, the four guards were poised to strike at the rapidly approaching digimon.  The freezing night air was made much worse by the speed at which they were rushed through it.  They could even see ice hanging off the Blimpmon's hull.  Kogamon took point while Kabukimon and the Hagurumon twins stood back a bit.

"Here they come…" Kogamon said, gripping a large throwing star tightly.

Kabukimon and the two Hagurumon all nodded.  The first Airdramon came in fast, buzzing right past the Blimpmon and drawing all attention his way.  The other two came in a second later.  They let loose a barrage of fireballs that lit up the night sky.  Their short bombardment rocked the giant digimon back and forth.  The guards didn't have a chance to retaliate for their being distracted.

"Damn!" Kogamon cursed, digging the spiked soles of his shoes into the metal plates below.

"I fear they may be…"

"…A bit fast for us."

"That maneuver looked planned," said Kogamon.

"Absurd!  We've never had to deal…"

"…With a sophisticated attack plan from such beasts!"

"Well whatever these suckers are up to, I'm taking 'em down on the next pass."

"Perhaps I may be able to offer some assistance with that…" Kabukimon said, getting himself into a dancing position.

"Intriguing," said one Hagurumon.

"I've always wondered as to Kabukimon's skills," added the other.

Kabukimon became still and focused for a moment.

"If you're planning on making a move, now would be the time," Kogamon said, watching the Airdramon circle around for another raid.

Kabukimon's eyes shot open and he launched into a very slow, serene dance that involved numerous spins and bows.  After a few very polished moves he came to the end and shouted "Cherry Blossom Storm!"

Instantly the wind picked up and dozens, then hundreds, and even thousands of cherry blossoms appeared and were whipped around.  They were so thick that when the Airdramon ran into them it became difficult to navigate or even keep their wings beating.  Their attack pattern fell apart and there was much screeching and snapping from the beasts as they tried to reorient themselves in the thick cloud that had by that point surrounded the entire Blimpmon.

"They are hesitant," said Kabukimon.  "Strike now."

"Darkness Gears!" shouted the Hagurumon.

"Koga Style Offshoot!"

Kogamon leaped through the air at his chosen target ahead of the gears that the Hagurumon shot from their mouths.  As he moved in he tossed is throwing star, putting a sizable arc on its path.  The Hagurumon's gears passed him by and struck one of the three Airdramon, embedding themselves into the creature's hide and rapidly spreading a deadly virus throughout its body.  By then Kogamon had reached his target.  He drew his sword and raised it high over his head.  He made one downward slice right through the Airdramon's thick skull armor and then made an incredibly rapid series of cuts that absolutely shredded the monster.  It never had a chance to retaliate.  Kogamon had just enough time rebound off of the slain beast and make his way toward the already virally infected Airdramon before his first target disintegrated.

Meanwhile Kogamon's thrown star came back around toward the as of yet uninjured Airdramon.  The beast was quick enough to dodge it, but the weapon kept on going and headed right into the side of the remaining wounded Airdramon, causing the beast to cry out in pain.  Enough strength remained in it though to shoot one fireball at Kogamon which knocked him away from his intended target.  As Kogamon fell toward the wastelands far below the crippled Airdramon gave in to his injuries and his body broke apart.  The remaining Airdramon let out a loud shriek and turned to escape.

"Kogamon!" the twin Hagurumon called out.

"Worry not!  I shall save him!" shouted Kabukimon.

With a second dance the wind that caused the cherry blossoms to swirl so violently about the Blimpmon picked up its pace and grew in strength such that Kogamon's fall was reversed and he was tossed back up forcefully enough to send him sailing right to the very to of the Blimpmon's gigantic body.  He landed hard and with a heavy grunt, but at least he had escaped certain doom.

"He is safe," Kabukimon said calmly.

Both Hagurumon let out sighs of relief.

"Looks like the last one is retreating," ToyAgumon reported back on the bridge.

The whole crew and Setomon certainly looked thankful that all of that was finally over.  Beelzemon though did not share their enthusiasm.

"He'll be back," Beelzemon said knowingly, "and he'll have buddies."

Setomon was the only one to give Beelzemon's warning any heed though.  He and Beelzemon would be the only ones prepared when his prophetic words proved true.

"Davis!" Ken shouted, pounding on the door to his best friend's apartment.  "I know you're in there!"

Ken was met with silence once more.  This wasn't like Davis at all.

"Davis!" he shouted again, giving the door a good knock.

"…Got a warrant?" Davis asked from inside.

"Come on, I just want to talk," Ken said more calmly.

"I'll get back to you tomorrow.  Now go home.  It's late."

Ken let his forehead fall against the door and began to speak very quietly.

"Tell me what's wrong, Daisuke."

A second passed, and then another.  Ken listened to himself breathing.  The hallway was absolutely still except for him.  Then he heard the lock on the door being released.  He stepped back and the door swung open to reveal a disheveled Davis Motimiya in his sleeping clothes, which consisted of an old T-shirt and a pair of beat-up sweatpants.

"Thanks," said Ken.

Davis turned back into the room.  He walked over to the couch and sat down.  Ken closed the door behind him, removing his coat and straightening his medium-length hair.

"Aren't you still on duty?" asked Davis.

"If anyone asks, there's a domestic disturbance going on here."

"You're not far off."

"Okay Davis, spill it."

Davis let out a long sigh.

"Now's not the time to get tight-lipped," said Ken.

"Alright.  I was out clubbing about a week ago, right?"

"You didn't wear that leisure suit, did you?"

"Can I talk?"

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Anyway, I ran into Kari there.  TK, he…he proposed to her."

"Oh.  Well I suppose congratulations are in order."

"She said no."

Ken's expression went totally blank.

"That's just what I thought."

"So what happened?"

"I screwed up."

"Huh?"

"I tried to make a move on her."

"Ooh.  Bad move."

"No kidding.  But it gets worse."

"How?"

"I told her I love her."

"Yeah, that's worse alright."

"She sure seemed to think so."

"Then I guess she doesn't feel the same way."

"I made a complete jerk of myself.  It's been the same way since we were kids.  That's why she never got that I love her."

"That's brutal…"

They both sat for a few seconds, silently pondering this strange turn of events.

"But why didn't she want to marry TK?" asked Ken.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out this whole time.  She said she just didn't feel ready yet, but I don't know.  I doubt that's the real reason."

"You think she's not sure if she really loves TK?"

"That's what I've been wondering for six days.  You remember the first time they broke up?  She didn't want to risk losing their friendship."

"So maybe she just loves him as a friend."

"I've been hoping that for ten years."

Ken sighed.  "And that's why you've never been able to move on."

"Huh?"

"You've been with more than your share of girls.  But all of those relationships were over in under a month, right?  Why do you think that is?"

"Um…because of that whole soccer incident?"

"Nope.  That's just an excuse you came up with.  It's because you've never gotten over Kari."

"You think?"

"Hey, I've taken enough psychology classes to figure out that much."

"Alright, so let's say you're right.  Now what?"

"Either do whatever it takes to finally realize that you're never going to get Kari, or just keep longing after her until it drives a wedge between you two forever."

Davis leaned back to look up at the ceiling and let his body go limp with his feet firmly planted on the floor.

"Not much of a choice."

"The sooner you do it, the better."

"So like this week?"

"Today."

"Today?"

"After you get a shower and maybe a little shut-eye; you look terrible.  And just to make sure I'm going with you when you talk to her.  Do you need me to hang out here to make sure you're okay?"

"Aren't you still on duty?"

"I can call the station and say I'm sick."

"And won't Yolei be mad at you?"

Ken sat and thought for a second.  "Alright, but expect me back here around noon."

"I work until six."

"Okay!" Ken said in a frustrated tone.  "You'd better be here at six-thirty though, because that's when we're going to go talk to Kari whether you like it or not."

"I think Kari has a night class tomorrow."

"And how would you know that?"

"I am in love with her," he said with a grin.

"We'll see if we can't fix that."

Before long a few hours had passed aboard the Blimpmon.  Things had been quiet, and the sun had begun to rise over the horizon.  And still the empty lands stretched out as far as the eye could see.  Sun-baked, desolate, lifeless…these were the only words to describe it.  It reminded Setomon of his journey across the sea on the back of that Dolphmon, except that was a lot wetter…and back then he had a friend to travel with.  The closest thing he had now was Beelzemon, who barely even acknowledged his existence.  He wished the other Setomon had wanted to come with him, even if she was a pain.  At least then there would be someone who wanted to talk to him.

It seemed like he should have been bored out of his mind, but he wasn't.  Instead he was edgy, continually pacing around the bridge, much to Kogamon's annoyance.  He hadn't been able to calm down since the Airdramon had attacked and Beelzemon predicted that more would come.  Setomon had developed something of a strange trust for the sinister digimon, in spite of his apparent reputation.  Of course it only seemed natural to trust in someone who had saved his life.

"What're you lookin' at?" asked Beelzemon.

"Nothing," said Setomon, quickly turning his attention elsewhere.

"Good."

"What the…?" asked one of the crew.

"Is there a problem?" Kabukimon inquired.

"Report!" said ToyAgumon.

"Picking up multiple incoming bogies on radar from the west."

"How many?" asked Kogamon.

"Four.  No, six.  Nine.  Fifteen!  They're everywhere!"

"There's an entire fleet out there," said ToyAgumon.

"I warned you," said Beelzemon.

"Shut up!" said Kogamon.

"The signals are blurring together.  I can't get an accurate count anymore," said the crewman.

"Perhaps those first three were more organized than we believed," Kabukimon suggested.  "It may be that they were a scouting party.  Allowing the last one to escape could prove a fatal error."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Kogamon.  "Come on, let's go take care of them."

"I guess I ain't sittin' this one out," Beelzemon said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Don't even think about it," said Kogamon.  "I'd feel a whole lot safer with those digimon out there than with you."

"Suit yerself," said Beelzemon, once again leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

"Come on," said Kogamon.  "You too, pup."

Setomon's ears perked up.  "Me?"

"I'm thinking it's time you got to test your mettle.  Just stay with Kabukimon and you'll be fine."

"You'd better get up there," said ToyAgumon, who was looking through a pair of binoculars.  They're coming in fast, and there are a whole mess of them."

"Let's move," said Kogamon.  "Don't get too comfortable there, Beelzemon.  As soon as we get back you and I are going to have a little talk."

Beelzemon completely ignored Kogamon; to respond would have been beneath even him.

The ensuing minutes were the most anxious ones Setomon had ever known.  He felt sick to his stomach as he followed the others back up to the roof.  And it certainly didn't help to see a writhing black mass hovering in the distance.

"How could there be…"

"…So many of them?"

"Airdramon," said Kogamon, whose eyesight was undoubtedly the keenest in the group.  "Lots of them."

"My Cherry Blossom Storm cannot confuse all of them," said Kabukimon.  "I fear we may be overpowered."

"Then I'll just have to take them all on myself," said Kogamon.

"Their numbers are too great.  The only honorable option remaining to us is to distract the Airdramon long enough for the Blimpmon and the other passengers to escape."

"This would probably be a lot easier with Beelzemon," Setomon pointed out.

"Stupid punk," said Kogamon.  "Even you should know to keep away from guys like that."

"I hear he's destroyed entire cities!" asserted one Hagurumon.

"…Even landmasses!" added the other.

"I'll not relent to such rumors," said Kabukimon, "but it is clear that Beelzemon's hands are not clean of blood."

"I don't care what you say," said Setomon.  "We'll all die up here without his help.  Just give him a chance!"

"Not gonna happen, kid," said Kogamon.  "Now everybody get ready.  Here they come…"

All five guards took on their fighting postures as the first few Airdramon swept past and began to launch their deadly fireballs.  The first brief volley struck the Blimpmon's broadside, causing it to bank to the left and throwing the guards off balance.

"Now, Kabukimon!" ordered Kogamon.

"Cherry Blossom Storm!"

Once again, Kabukimon's unusual dance brought up a flurry of blossoms to surround the Blimpmon.

"Koga Style Offshoot!"

Kogamon released his heavy throwing star.  It swooped out wide and then turned to come back around, slicing through a group of Airdramon caught in the blossoms.  None were killed, but all had been hit.  Kogamon caught his weapon as it returned to him.

"Darkness Gears!"

The Hagurumon began spitting their attacks in every direction, hoping to score some good hits.  Much of the time their gears were dodged though, and when they weren't the Airdramon overpowered the attacks.  Kogamon continued to toss his throwing star at any Airdramon that came close enough, but with all the confusion it was difficult to score a hit.

Suddenly an immense light appeared outside the blossom barrier.  It was the light of dozens of incoming fireballs.  This massive assault from the Airdramon fleet incinerated over half of the cherry blossoms and pummeled the Blimpmon.  As the Blimpmon pitched down the guards lost their footing, with the exception of the floating Hagurumon.  Kogamon stabbed his sword into the hull to keep from dropping, and Kabukimon gripped onto the surface with his strong toes and fingers.  Setomon tried to dig in with his claws, but as the angle of descent grew he lost it and fell forward.  Luckily he fell toward Kabukimon, who caught him in one arm and quickly readjusted his grip.

The Cherry Blossom Storm quickly dissipated with Kabukimon's concentration lost, thus freeing the entire Airdramon strike force to attack together.  They bombarded the hulking digimon with their fiery breath and slammed against it with their bodies.  They had all seemingly been driven into a mad frenzy, screeching and beating their wings and snapping at one another while tearing the Blimpmon apart.  And until the Blimpmon had regained a level posture, it was up to the twin Hagurumon.

"You want a piece of this?!" one shouted.

"'Cause you're gonna get the whole thing!" the other added.

"Darkness Gears!"

They fired at full speed into the vicious sea of winged serpents, and they weren't about to stop for anything.  They kept on firing, driving back a few of the Airdramon, but whenever one backed off there would be two more vying for its position.  The snarling pack of feral reptiles were overcome by bloodlust and continued to claw at everything and everything they were able to get hold of.  Then the unthinkable happened.  One of the Airdramon got in a lucky hit, striking the two Hagurumon with its tail and knocking them into the writhing mass.  They never stood a chance.  The beasts devoured the broken bits of data before continuing to tear apart the Blimpmon.

"Hagurumon!" Setomon screamed.

"These beasts shall pay for that!" Kabukimon shouted.  "Setomon!  Grip the hull!  I shall deal with these…these monsters!"

Setomon dug his claws in.  He could feel Blimpmon leveling out beneath him, but until that happened he couldn't do a thing to help and neither could Kogamon.

"Cherry Blossom Storm!" Kabukimon shouted as he ran up the nearly vertical Blimpmon.

This time the storm came as a bolt of wind and blossoms from Kabukimon's hands.  It struck the Airdramon with such force that all were knocked clear of the Blimpmon's now battered surface.  He struck again and again, keeping the Airdramon away and allowing the Blimpmon to level out.

"Keep it up, Kabukimon!" Kogamon shouted, launching into the battle himself with his sword drawn.

"Fire Flash!" Setomon shouted as he was engulfed in flame and charged a group of Airdramon that had latched onto the hull.

Kogamon's steel, Kabukimon's wind, and Setomon's flame seemed to be winning.  Together they were holding back the menace, but they were growing tired and the Airdramon seemed to have no end.  Then the Blimpmon was struck by an explosion greater than any that preceded it.  The remaining three defenders were knocked down, but they recovered immediately.

"What was that?!" shouted Setomon.

A second explosion rocked the Blimpmon.

"The Airdramon are not the only enemies out here," Kabukimon concluded.

"There!" Kogamon shouted after slitting an Airdramon's throat.  "That giant shadow!"

"I shall deal with it, Kogamon!" Kabukimon shouted.

"No way!" Kogamon replied.  "This one's mine…"

Kogamon jumped toward the shadowy figure, rebounding off a number of Airdramon to get there.  And then, on the final jump, the Airdramon in front of the king-sized digimon parted, revealing the frightening visage of a Gigadramon.  Kogamon hesitated in flight, lost his composure, and gave Gigadramon plenty of time to make his move.  In a wide sweep, Gigadramon slammed his arm into Kogamon.  His body disintegrated almost on contact, and only data remained scattered around where he had once been before being absorbed into Gigadramon.

"Kogamon!" Setomon cried out.

"This…this is intolerable!" Kabukimon yelled.  "You will pay, creature!  Cherry Blossom Storm!"

Kabukimon focused all of his subsequent attack solely on Gigadramon, pounding him with stronger and stronger assaults.  But he was still having no affect on the Ultimate, and it was up to Setomon to protect both himself and Kabukimon.  Sadly, that didn't last long.  An errant fireball knocked Setomon across of the length of the deck.  He was lucky enough not to fall over the edge, but Kabukimon was not nearly so lucky.  An Airdramon locked down on him with its razor-sharp teeth and Kabukimon cried out in sheer pain.  Never one to give up, Kabukimon shot a Cherry Blossom Storm right down the Airdramon's throat.  The Airdramon was killed instantly, but Kabukimon was thrown back right into Setomon, who was just then recovering from his own tumble.

"Kabukimon!" Setomon said as he observed Kabukimon's wounds.

"A mortal blow indeed."

"Come on!  You could still make it!"

"I wonder, Setomon…" Kabukimon said weakly as the mass of Airdramon continued to riot all around them.  "Would we have survived the day had we trusted Beelzemon as you did?"

Setomon was silent.

"Were we so blinded by our pride?"

Setomon couldn't believe it.  Once again he was surrounded in death.  The smell of fresh blood covered him once again.  The sounds of battle raged in his ears again.  No matter how far he ran there was no escaping it.  He didn't want to live this way.

"Setomon…" Kabukimon said now very faintly, "when you battle, you must do so honorably.  That alone is what separates from these beasts.  That alone reminds us who we are, even in the heart of battle.  Survive, Setomon…no matter what…"

The last breath of life escaped Kabukimon's lips and his body fell apart right on top of Setomon.  But there was no time to weep the loss, for an Airdramon was coming in fast with obviously cruel intent.  Its jaw hung open to reveal its rows upon rows of fangs.  The beast clearly meant to swallow Setomon whole.  Setomon shut his eyes tight and all was still.  In an instant he would be gone, or so he thought.  Instead fate intervened once more on his behalf, when the Airdramon was struck in the side of the head by the steel-toed boot of none other than Beelzemon.  The blow cracked right through the Airdramon's skull and slew it right then and there.  Beelzemon then drew both of his sawed-off shotguns and took aim.

"Time to die you FREAKS!  Double-Impact!"

The Airdramon never stood a chance.  They fell one after another to Beelzemon's firearms.  Every shot brought two or three kills with it.  The tables had suddenly turned, and it seemed that the Airdramon were now the victims of the ferocity that had already done in Kogamon, the Hagurumon and Kabukimon.  Terrified, they tried to escape, led by the frightful Gigadramon.  Beelzemon managed to shoot a few as they tried to flee, but it was clear that they would soon be out of range.

"Oh no you don't!" he shouted.  "You ain't gettin' away from me!"

Beelzemon let out a long yell between clenched teeth.  As he did so, his eyes changed from red to green and two large bulges appeared beneath his leather jacket.

"…Beelzemon?" Setomon gasped.

He didn't respond.  With one last shout a pair of large, black-feathered wings erupted from his back and spread out wide at his sides.

"Let's see how you punks handle a little Blast Mode!"

Beelzemon ran off the Blimpmon's edge and took flight.  He moved in on the escaping Airdramon with unbelievable speed.  The first one he brought down he did so by tearing it in half with his gloved hand.  He punched right through some, cracked the skulls of others, and of course brought out his sharp-shooting skills whenever he had the chance.  Doused in blood and overcome by his rage, Beelzemon turned to the last living target: Gigadramon.  He punched right through the creature's head and down into its body.  The poor creature exploded from the terrible force of the blow and now all that remained of the fleet was the scattered data that still hung in the air as well as the blood and oil that clung to Beelzemon's body.  Beelzemon was panting heavily, overcome by adrenalin and having a crazed look in his eyes.  He looked ready to slaughter ten times the number of digimon he'd already killed that day.

Setomon was terrified.  He knew now what the others saw in Beelzemon that he hadn't realized.  Kabukimon told him to fight with honor, and Beelzemon had done anything but that.  Then again, Beelzemon had won in the end while Kabukimon had fallen.  Setomon was confused and angry and relieved and saddened all at once.  The mix of emotion was too strong for him to deal with, and he collapsed.  He didn't even get to see Beelzemon fly off in a rage.


	20. Demons, Within and Without

I've got some big news.  As of right now, I would like to announce the grand opening of the official website for Digimon: Legends.  Thanks to the tireless efforts of my oldest fan, my fics now have a website.  It's still under construction, but already there is a lot of good information there, and it's only going to get better, so be sure to pay it a visit at (go to my homepage in my author information screen) and you will not be disappointed.  Even if you are, the site is still just starting up, so give it a little while.]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun was still hidden from view, but the sky was lighting up over the cold, gray cityscape.  The air was unseasonably frigid and the streets were already alive with traffic.  A skywalk overlooked a street with a few cars driving by.  There were apartment buildings abound in this now run-down neighborhood.  A noxious odor hung in the air, graffiti was scrawled throughout the alleyways in between buildings.  There were a few trees and such in planters around, but this part of the city was nowhere near as pristine as it had once been.  A boy with bushy rust-red hair and yellow-brown eyes stood in the middle of the skywalk.  Just as the last time, he was on the leading edge of his teenage years and wore an orange, buttoned shirt over a white T-shirt with baggy tan shorts and a pair of sneakers.  He looked down on the traffic below.

The boy had no idea why, but he felt tears in his eyes.  Something was very wrong, but he didn't know what.  He felt a burning pain within his chest that went right down to the very core of his being.  Something had gone terribly wrong.  Yet he had no memory of it.  As much as he wanted to, he just couldn't stop shedding his silent tears.

He wiped his eyes with his arm and turned to sit down on the hard concrete with his back against the guard-rail.  He closed his eyes as he sat down.  Painful images swirled before his mind's eye, but he couldn't make sense of any of them.  Some time went by as he sat there, and at least ten people passed him by without a moment's notice.  Eventually though, one person did stop.

"Are you okay?" the young woman asked.

"Go away…" the boy said miserably.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

The boy opened his eyes and looked up at the woman.  His vision was still a bit blurred from the tears, but he instantly felt there was something significant about her.  He sniffed and wiped his eyes clear.  Now able to see her more clearly, he found her actually quite plain.  The makeup she wore was very light, her hair was light brown and very straight, and her clothes were quite modest.  In spite of all of this, though, the woman was somehow anything but plain.  There was an almost magical quality about her, hovering just beyond sight.

"Who are you?" the boy asked in amazement.

"My name is Ms. Kamiya…uh, Kari.  Are you lost?  Do you need help?"

"No, I was just…"  The boy looked closer at this woman.  He had no doubt whatsoever that he could trust her absolutely.  "Actually, I am lost."

"Maybe I can help you.  Can you tell me where you live?"

"No."

"Do you live around here?"

"I don't know…"

"Can you tell me your name then, or maybe who your parents are?"

"I don't know any of that…"

"You don't?"

The boy felt like crying again.  His lower lip started to quiver and he felt tears come to his eyes.  "I…I don't…I don't know any of that."

"Maybe I could—"

"I'm scared.  I—I—I know a lot of things.  I know that those are cars down on the street.  I know that those are apartment buildings on the other side of the street.  I—I know what kinds of flowers are planted over there.  I even know…I even know that this place is called High—*choke* Hightonview Terrace and that we're in Tokyo.  But I…I don't even know who I am.  I…I can't…"

Kari bent down to the boy and let him grab onto her for comfort.  He started to sob uncontrollably.  She did what she could to comfort him, but he was clearly inconsolable for the time being.

"I must say I am impressed," said a sinister voice from the other side of the skywalk.

The boy's sobbing ceased immediately as he and Kari both looked over to where the voice had come from.  A man with stringy white hair and a red trench-coat stood there, looking away from them.

"Huh?" asked Kari.

"Not with you," the man said as he turned to face them, keeping his eyes hidden under his hair.  "With the boy there."

"Amadeus…" the boy said, his sorrow instantly turning to anger.

"I don't know who you are, but if you—"

"Stay out of this, weakling," Amadeus commanded.  "My business is with the thing you hold in your arms as if it were an innocent child."

"Don't talk like that!" Kari cried.  "And don't you dare come any closer!"

Amadeus studied her for a moment.  "I don't have time for this sentiment."

She reached into her purse for her pepper spray, but before she could even get the bag open, Amadeus had stepped right up in front of her.  He backhanded her across the face with inhuman strength that sent her rolling down the concrete walkway.  The boy stood before Amadeus, as helpless as ever.

"As I was saying…" said Amadeus.

The boy turned to escape.  He was just about to leap over the guard-rail and to the street some thirty feet below, but Amadeus caught him by the neck before he could fall more than a few inches.  Amadeus then hoisted the boy up to look out over the cityscape with him, choking the child just enough so that he couldn't speak.

"AS I WAS SAYING…"

The boy offered no resistance, and Kari lay motionless on the ground.

"I am impressed," Amadeus continued.  "But I fear we have come to a crossroads in our relationship.  I can't have you running wild forever, so I offer you a simple choice.  If you are strong you will be worthy of serving me, and thus you will accept my gift.  However, if you are weak, you will be useless to me and thus you shall die."

Amadeus then violently flung the boy back to the other side of the skywalk.  He tumbled along the ground before hitting the guard-rail.  He heard something fall from his pocket and skip along the ground during the crash.  Dazed but otherwise okay, the boy looked up for what had fallen from him.  His eyes fell on a small, plastic, handheld device.  It had a small digital display screen and a few buttons on the sides.  He tried to reach out to it, but Amadeus picked it up first in his gloved hand.  Even in his confused state, the boy could see Amadeus doing something to the device.

"What are you…?" the boy tried to ask.

Amadeus ignored him.  After he finished tampering with the device he quickly tossed it back and turned toward the woman, who was conscious but still weakened.  He grabbed her roughly and brought her face up to his.  His red eyes pierced hers.

"Be sure to tell Mr. Takaishi that I'm looking forward to meeting him again."

Amadeus let the woman drop like a sack of meat.  By then the boy had lost consciousness.  When the woman recovered she saw neither Amadeus nor the boy she'd stopped to help.

Several hours later, Beelzemon's bloodlust had subsided.  He was at a small break in the wasteland where there was vegetation and water and even shade from the unceasing heat.  Data streams raked the wasteland in the distance, but he was safe from their influence for now.  The clear sky allowed him to see the distant Earth, now grown closer from his southward journey.  He still felt a little sad whenever he looked at it, knowing he'd never be able to return.  As soon as his foot touched the ground his power drained away and he de-digivolved to the much more energy-efficient form of a short, purple Rookie by the name of Impmon.

Winded from his long trip, Impmon staggered forth in search of water.  He found it a few minutes later in a stagnant pool, but he wasn't about to be picky.  He took a long drink and then dampened his bandana and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow.  As he looked down on himself, Impmon could still see the blood from the fight.  He waded into the pool of water to clean it off.

"Don't be an idiot," said a gruff voice.  "You know that no matter how clean you get you'll never wash away those blood stains."

"Shut up already," Impmon said weakly.

"You'll get what you deserve one of these days!" said a second voice, this one much louder and more irritating.

"You are a monster, Impmon.  What you did was totally uncalled for," said a very noble third voice.

"Now you're gonna barge in too?"

"I never approved of using you in the first place," said the first voice.  "You always were too much of a savage."

"You betrayed the Sovereign's glory for your own gain!" said the second.  "We'll never forgive you for that!"

"I have nothing more to say," said the third.

"Can't you guys leave me alone for just a few minutes?"

"Why should we?!" demanded the second.

"It's not like we have anything else to do now," the first huffed.

"Surely you two realize by now that you are the reason for your fate," said the third.  "I would have expected better from such esteemed warriors than to force Impmon to do your dirty work."

"And what about you?!" shouted the second voice.  "We weren't the ones who told him to kill you."

"We had nothing to do with this monster's actions.  Our Sovereign hoped he would use such powers for good rather than evil.  Clearly, mistakes were made."

"We've been arguing over this for a decade now," said voice number three.  "Surely we can find something better to occupy ourselves with."

"I am open to suggestions," said the first one.

"We could try giving Impmon a little rest now and then.  After all, it was our endless bickering that led to that massacre back there."

"That wasn't a massacre!" said the second voice.  "We were just doing what we had to in order to stop those fiendish Airdramon!"

"Your methods were needlessly brutal," said the third voice.  "No true warrior should ever have to stoop to such lows."

"Don't forget it was Beelzemon and who performed the actions," the first voice pointed out.

"With your prodding," said the third.

"I've had to put up with your accusations for too long now, Leomon!" the first voice said angrily.  "If I could do so I would toss you out like the trash you are."

"It would be a welcome release from your arrogance, Chatsuramon," the third voice replied.

"I'd do anything to be free of this cage," said the second voice.  "That we Devas could be trapped in such a common thing as this makes my blood boil.  And he is a demon, no less!"

"Shut up, Makuramon," said the first voice, Chatsuramon.  "I only put up with you when we served the Sovereign because we never had to work together.  But now, with that voice of yours stuck in my head every moment of every day, I think I may just go completely mad!"

"MY voice?!  If I have to deal with your ego another minute I may just have to do something drastic!"

"Like what, you peon?  I always despised you, Makuramon.  You truly do shame the Devas."

"There's nothing left to shame," said Leomon.  "In case you hadn't noticed, the Devas are dead or disappeared and your Sovereign is gone."

"At least we don't long for that accursed Earth and the company of those pathetic humans," said Chatsuramon.  "At least we Devas have our pride."

"I'd say you have too much of it."

"Shut up!" Impmon shouted.

All was quiet again…for the time being.  Impmon stepped out of the water and shook himself dry.  Once again clean, or at least appearing so, Impmon looked around to decide where to head next.

"Having trouble?" asked a sinister voice from the trees.

Impmon spun around to face this mysterious intruder, but he wasn't fast enough.  The monster leaped from the trees and grabbed Impomon tightly in his fist, ready to crush him at any moment.

"Move and you die," the creature said.

Impmon knew when to keep still.  Besides, he could digivolve at any time.  For now he decided to play it cool and look up at his attacker.  He saw looming above him the frightening demonic visage of Mephismon.

"You need somethin' punk?" asked Impmon.

"Only your cooperation, little one.  My master demands to speak to you.  Believe me when I say that his demands are not refused by any that wish to live."

"Put me down and I'll consider it."

"I know your powers, and it is only because my master wants your alive that I do not crush you this very moment.  But because my life and glory depends on yours, I will do this."

Mephismon let Impmon drop.  Impmon stood up from where he fell and casually dusted himself off.

"So, eh, what're you offerin'?"

"Refuse me and we will both die.  Accept and we will both become the most feared of all digimon.  The choice is clear,"

"As I see it, I'm already a pretty tough customer."

"Rest assured, my master is the toughest.  You see, it was he who eradicated that city north of here.  It was he that commanded that fleet which you so easily slaughtered not six hours ago."

"They were a bunch a' losers, and so's this master you keep talkin' about."

Mephismon slammed his palm down on Impmon, shaking the ground and nearly crushing the Rookie.

"No one speaks ill of my perfect master.  He shall be my deliverance from this weak form, and he shall be your master as well soon enough.  Start getting used to the idea."

"Hah!  I'm supposed to serve this clown?  I don't even know the sucka's name."

"His name is irrelevant.  He is known to all his servants and foes alike as the Destroyer.  So too shall you call him."

Impmon seemed hesitant upon hearing this.

"So, you have heard of him.  You must realize by now that resisting his word is impossible."

"Just get yer hand off me."

Mephismon obliged, though not without a threatening glare.

"Now then, let's see if you can't be a little bit nicer to me," said Impmon.  "First of all, I wanna see you beg me…on yer knees.  Next I—"

"Don't even listen to this cretin," said Chatsuramon.  "There is no master for us but the glorious Sovereign."

"I want you to…to…" Impmon hesitated.

"Get away from this foul demon as soon as you can," Leomon advised.  "I trust neither his tainted words nor his foul stench."

"I say take his head off!" shouted Makuramon.  "He'll only stand in our way if you don't!"

"Problem?" asked Mephismon.

Impmon was sweating and clutching his head in his hands.  He could barely keep his balance.

"Run!" shouted Leomon.

"Kill!" cried Makuramon.

Impmon collapsed.

"Something you ate?" Mephismon asked slyly.  "Or was it someone?"

Mephismon grabbed Impmon by the neck and brought him up to see him eye-to-eye.  Impmon was just barely conscious, but was still able to understand his guest, if not respond.

"Serve the Destroyer, Impmon.  Once you join him, there will be only one voice: his."

Impmon's eyes closed and Mephismon once again let him drop.  Impmon did not rise this time.

"Such is the price the weak must pay when they absorb power beyond their means," said Mephismon.  "Follow my trail to the Hall of the Void Soul, in the heart of the Driver Wasteland.  There will you have your relief, and I my prize."

Mephismon turned and strode past the trees and into the wastes.

Some time later, right around noon, a man came running up to the front entrance of a Tokyo police station.  It was Davis, still dressed in his work suit and tie, slightly loosened.  He shot through the open double doors and wanted to keep on going, but unfortunately he found a metal detector and a short line blocking his path.  And so Davis was forced to wait as each person in front of him was scanned and the line slowly moved forward.  It only took a couple of minutes to get through, but it felt like an eternity, especially when someone in front of him had to go through the machine more than once.  Finally he made it through and ran, rather clumsily, up to the reception area.  Before he got there, though, he was intercepted by an old friend.

"Hey," said Ken, looking like he hadn't shaved or showered in a week.  He wore the same uniform he'd had on earlier, but now it was looking pretty grungy after the extra hours of being worn.

"Ken!" said Davis, quickly stopping and grabbing his friend.  "What happened?!"

"Just relax, Davis.  She's just had a little scared is all.  She's with the sketch artist right now.  Come on, let's walk."

Ken started to walk through the busy station, alive with cops, crooks, and people there for any other reason one could come up with.  The bright mid-day light filtered in through the large windows that covered the far wall.  There were long rows of offices and rooms in either direction.  Desks were intermingled in the main lobby with couches, tables, chairs and the odd plastic plant.  Bulletin boards were everywhere, and each was plastered with whatever anyone wanted to stick up there.

"So is she okay?" asked Davis.

"She's a got a few cuts, but the hospital gave her an otherwise clean bill of health.  She's lucky I found her; I was just getting ready to come off my shift."

"When I find out who did this…"

"We're working on that.  Trust me, we'll get this guy."

"So he just attacked her?"

"She says he was after this kid she stopped to help.  I don't know.  Something sounds wrong about the whole situation."

"Where's TK?  Didn't you call him?"

"I tried for a few hours, but I couldn't get him anywhere.  He didn't answer his cell phone and he's not at work or home.  To be honest, I'd be more worried about him then Kari."

"What?  Why?"

"Kari heard this guy mention TK just before he ran off.  And now with TK missing… I'm worried."

"Well thanks for calling me, even if I wasn't your first choice."

"By the looks of it you shot right over here from work."

"Of course."

Just then a short, dark-haired woman emerged from one of the offices and came up to Ken with a sketch of the man as Kari described him.

"Got it?" asked Ken.

"You're never going to believe this," she said, handing the sketch to Ken.

"No way," said Ken.

"What?" asked Davis, looking at the drawing.

"This is the same guy that threatened Yolei just a couple weeks ago.  He called himself Amadeus.  This is the first sighting we've had since then."

"I'll take this to be copied," said the woman, leaving with the sketch in hand.

"Yolei?" asked Davis.  "What's with this guy?"

"I don't like this at all," said Ken.  First he threatens Yolei and Izzy—"

"Izzy too?"

"Yeah, Izzy.  He told Yolei to give Izzy a message.  He even seemed to know about me.  And now he attacks Kari and seems to know TK.  I don't like this at all."

"Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?" Davis whispered to Ken.

"It could just be a coincidence," Ken whispered back.

"Coincidence my foot, this guy knows about us."

"So do a lot of people."

"And how many of them are out to get us?"

"Good point, but why would anyone target us after all this time?"

"I don't know, but what else could it be?"

"Then there's the matter of that kid.  What could be his connection to this Amadeus guy?"

Davis thought for a moment, but didn't look like he would come up with anything.  Ken sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Look, it's been a long night," he said.  "I've got to get home and catch a few winks before my next shift.  Maybe I'll get lucky and Yolei won't yell at me.  I've got to get changed and sign out, so why don't you take care of Kari until I get back?"

"Right, sure."

"Are you sure you know what I mean, Davis?"

"Huh?"

"Go talk to her."

"About what?"

"You know what."

"What are you—No way!  I can't talk to her about that after the day she's had!"

"You're not going to get a better chance than this one, Davis.  TK's nowhere to be found, you can have a little time alone, and if you don't get this whole thing over with right now it'll just be that much harder later on.  I'll be back in a few minutes, and if you haven't said anything by then, I will.  Okay?"

"…Yeah…"

"What's that?"

"I said yeah, okay?"

"Good."

Ken didn't move.  It became clear after a few seconds that he was waiting to make sure Davis did what he was supposed to do.  Davis eventually caught on and walked rather reluctantly over to the office where he knew Kari to be.

"I owe you this much, Davis," Ken whispered before going off to change.

Davis entered the small office.  Inside were a few desks, chairs, bulletin boards, filing cabinets, computers and even more plastic plants.  There sat Kari, wearing a pink skirt with a white top and a beige jacket.  She looked very worried and had a few scrapes on her face and arms.  She barely even noticed him come in.

"…Kari?" Davis asked in a small voice.

Kari looked up and jumped.  "Davis!" she yelped.  "What are you doing here?"

"Ken, he…he called me and told me to come down here.  Are you alright?"

"I thought he called TK."

"He couldn't reach him, so he called me instead."

"I'm glad."  She bit a fingernail absentmindedly.

"Ken told me what happened."

"I'm fine, but I'm really worried."

Davis took a seat in front of her.  "I'm sure everything will be alright.  They'll catch this guy for sure."

"But what about that little boy?"

"What little boy?"

"The one that man was after.  I don't know what happened to him."

"Well…"

Davis observed Kari's face.  She was very deeply troubled.

"Look, if you spend all your time worrying about something you won't make it any better, right?  All you'll do is give yourself a headache and then you've got to find some aspirin, but you're always out so you have to run down to the store, but you'll still be worrying and you won't be paying attention to your driving and that's how you end up rear-ending your boss on the freeway and getting fired."

Kari laughed just a little bit.

"What?" asked Davis.

"Never mind, it's nothing," Kari assured him.

Davis was surprised.  Whatever he'd said, Kari was looking a little better.

"Thanks for coming down to get me," she said.  "I'm glad your boss let you leave."

"My boss?"

"You did tell him you were leaving, didn't you?"

Davis looked back at her blankly.

"Oh, Davis," she said, shaking her head but finding it impossible to keep from smiling.

"So…" said Davis.

"Maybe you're right.  Maybe I do worry too much.  But I can't help it."

"Just like I can't help getting in trouble at work."

Kari laughed again.  It made Davis smile whenever he heard it.

"It's just that I've had so much to worry about lately.  There's what happened today of course, and after last night with TK and all…"

"What happened last night?"

"I…I don't want to say."

"Come on, Kari.  You can tell me."

"Well you see he…TK proposed to me again."

"He what?"

"He proposed.  It was really sweet of him, but I just couldn't say yes.  I just couldn't, at least not yet."

Davis just nodded.

"Why is this so hard?" she asked.  "I mean, I love TK and I want to marry him…someday.  It just doesn't feel like the right time though.  Maybe I'm not making sense.  Maybe I should just marry him."

Davis' mind raced to come up with some advice, but all he could think of was to nod along.

"Do you think I should?" she asked.  "Maybe this feeling will go away, and after all we won't be getting married right away.  Some people are even engaged for years before their wedding."

Davis was still drawing a blank.

"Alright, I'll do it.  I'll just say yes to TK and get it over with.  Thanks for being such a great listener, Davis."

Davis knew it was now or never.  He had to say something before it was too late.

"Wait!"

Kari looked stunned.  She waited for him to say more.  Davis didn't have anything to say, but he had to try to forge ahead.

"You can't marry TK.  You shouldn't marry TK!"

"Why?"

"Because he…because you don't want to."

"But I do.  At least I think I do…someday."

"You're going to go get married to a guy you think you might someday love enough to marry?"

Kari was silent, leaving Davis to try to cook up something to say on his own.

"Kari you've got your whole life ahead of you.  You can't just go getting tied down to one guy if you don't want to.  At least that's how I feel.  I don't want to be tied down to just one woman."  Davis knew this last part to be a rather bold lie, but he went with it.  "You just can't go getting hitched to any guy that proposes!  It's your choice, not his."

They both just sat there for a moment, completely quiet.  Davis knew he had to break the silence.

"Look, Kari, I'm really sorry.  I'm sorry for what happened today.  I'm sorry I tried to butt into your business right now.  I'm really sorry I told you that I love you.  Most of all I'm sorry that I meant it."

There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

"I…I think I'll go now."

Davis stood up to leave, but something held him back…literally.  His pant-leg was caught on a loose screw in the chair.  He tried to shake it off, but only ended up nearly tripping himself.

"Here…" said Kari.

She got off her chair and bent down to untangle his pant-leg.  Davis smiled as he came loose.

"Thanks," he said.

Kari stood up.  "Davis, wait.  I should've given you a chance.  It's okay if you love me.  I…just don't feel that way about you."

"It's not okay, Kari.  I just want you to know that I'm going to try to just get over it and accept that nothing's ever going to happen between us.  I think that's for the best."

"Please don't blame yourself, Davis."

"There's no one else to blame."

"I shouldn't have let this go on for so long."

"I should've realized sooner that I was being an idiot."

"You weren't being an idiot."

"Whatever.  The point is, now that it's out in the open and I know you don't feel the same way, I think I can move on."

Kari stared into Davis' eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"It's funny," she said.

"What is?"

"In some ways you're the same guy you've always been.  But you've also changed a lot."

"I don't think I've really changed."

"Maybe you're right.  Maybe I just didn't see it before."

Davis began to feel awkward, so close to Kari, all alone in this room with her.  He thought it wise to make a hasty retreat before he lost what he'd been trying to accomplish.

"Look, maybe it was a mistake to come down here.  I should be going."

"Yeah, right," Kari said, suddenly backing away and blushing.

"You can get a ride home, right?"

"I think I'm just about done here.  I'm sure Ken would be happy to help me out."

"I'll see if I can catch him."

"Thanks…a lot.  I really appreciate it, Davis."

"You have a nice day, and I hope things get better."

"Don't worry, I'll be…fine…"

"Yeah.  Don't you worry either."

Davis could tell he was blushing too.  He waved quickly and got out of there like there was a bomb about to go off.


	21. Choice

[Despite a few setbacks, the website for my series is fully up and running now, and undergoing frequent updates. Expect one in the Original Digimon section soon. Now get out some good music, because this chapter is one of the most action-packed in recent memory. Enjoy…]  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
The sun shone down coldly in the Western Quadrant. The steep, rugged mountains of Baihumon's making could be seen in all directions. Fresh snow lay on the ground, marked by two sets of footprints—one set huge with two toes and the other relatively small and clad in shoes—leading into the bustling industrial center of Snowy Ridge. It was a rather poorly-named city, considering as it was on a lake rather than atop one of the surrounding mountains, but such oddities are hardly unusual in any world. Though there was fresh snow around the city, only a small amount was to be found within its stone and iron core.  
  
"I don't like the feel of this place," said the first traveler, the human known as Ryo who was still clad in a heavy brown cloak that left his head uncovered.  
  
"Smells strange…" Cyberdramon said with a growl.  
  
They still stood outside the city, but already they knew something was awry.  
  
"Are we sure this is the place that had the bombing only a little while ago?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"Well, as long as you're sure."  
  
Just then they saw three Tankmon heading their way.  
  
"Here comes trouble…" said Cyberdramon.  
  
"Relax, let me do the talking. I'm sure they're only local guards."  
  
Cyberdramon stayed quiet, but he definitely did not relax. The Tankmon arrived shortly enough and quickly encircle Ryo and Cyberdramon. Their weapons were ready to fire, and they didn't look like they would be the first one's to speak.  
  
"Um…hi," Ryo said after a few tense seconds.  
  
"Leave now!" the Tankmon ordered in their mechanical voices.  
  
"But we were just—"  
  
"You have three seconds to comply! Three, tw—"  
  
Before they could get any further, Cyberdramon made his move. With a single broad swipe of his left claw he tore all three Tankmon apart.  
  
"Problem solved," said Cyberdramon as the shredded parts of the Tankmon still fell on all sides of him.  
  
"Something tells me that's just the tip of the iceberg," said Ryo.  
  
"Not a problem." Cyberdramon cracked his knuckles. "I like crushed ice."  
  
"I hope so, because I didn't exactly think to bring any modify cards along this trip. It's up to you."  
  
"Let's get going."  
  
"Right," Ryo agreed. Cyberdramon quickly grabbed Ryo and flew toward the center of the city.  
  
By then, Setomon had regained consciousness. Now reduced to only one inexperienced guard, the Blimpmon's crew had decided to touch down at the nearest edge of the wasteland, which was luckily only a couple of hours away. A few of the crewmembers opted to remain behind with the Blimpmon, while the others escorted the passengers through the harsh terrain to the nearest town. Setomon, however, came to believe that his time with these digimon was at an end and chose to head off on his own, following the sounds and smells of his surroundings. That was how Setomon came to be alone again, wandering in the baking heat.  
  
The area, though at the edge of the wasteland, was still quite arid. There were, however, a few shrubs and grasses to be seen, and the occasional stagnant pool of water. Nevertheless it was hardly any kind of place to make a real home in Setomon's view. The tireless sun and the rocky ground underfoot slowly wore away at Setomon's will to continue. There were no trees for shade and no smooth stretches of sand or healthy grasses. As Setomon walked his head drooped lower and lower. His tongue began to loll out and he panted with every breath. His padded feet were cut by the small, sharp rocks that littered the ground as far as his eyes could see. In time, Setomon finally decided to lay down for a rest. He flopped down on the ground in some of the dry grasses near a small puddle of water. He let out a long breath and closed his eyes.  
  
"Why bother?" he asked of himself.  
  
He rolled onto his side, but felt something under his head. He rolled back and scratched whatever it was free of his hair. It was his digivice, which he had some time ago clipped onto a lock of hair so he wouldn't drop it. He looked at it thoughtfully.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked of it. "Was Kabukimon right?"  
  
The digivice, of course, did not reply. Setomon gave a long sigh.  
  
"Kabukimon fought with honor, but he ended up dying for it. Beelzemon…he won, but he was so cruel. Are those the only ways?"  
  
A warm breeze passed him by, causing the grasses to whisper to one another.  
  
"If they are, then maybe I don't want to fight at all. But it seems like I never have a choice. Those bad digimon always come after me. I didn't choose for all of this to happen. I didn't choose for Guilmon to die. I didn't choose to meet Jenomon. I didn't choose to let Kabukimon get killed…"  
  
Setomon's eyes slowly opened as he realized the truth.  
  
"…Or did I?"  
  
It all became clear to him.  
  
"I chose to leave File Island with Guilmon. That's why all of this has happened. That's why everything has turned out like it has. That's while all those good digimon are dead. Because of me."  
  
The grasses whispered amongst themselves once more.  
  
"They're all dead because of my choice."  
  
Setomon did not shed a single tear. Instead he rose to his feet once again, snatched up his digivice, and continued on his way.  
  
"Behind!" Ryo shouted.  
  
Cyberdramon quickly spun around from the already mangled opponent in front of him and drove his claw up through the chest of the Mekanorimon that was trying to leap onto his back.  
  
"Good work," Ryo said with a smile.  
  
The two were now in the center of the city, where they had found not only an enormous number of mechanical digimon waiting to tear them limb-from-limb, but also an inexplicably missing civilian population.  
  
"Come on, Cyberdramon," Ryo said after observing the fallen machines all around. "We don't have much time before even more spot us."  
  
"What are we looking for?"  
  
"Anything that seems important."  
  
"Just take a look around. No normal digimon. Lots of bad guys."  
  
"You know what I mean. Just keep your eyes peeled for something that these guys might be protecting."  
  
"Intruders!" shouted a Kokuwamon that had just stumbled upon them.  
  
"Get them!" shouted the four that immediately joined the first.  
  
"We don't have time for this," said Ryo.  
  
"Allow me." Cyberdramon grabbed the body of the Mekanorimon he'd just torn through and lobbed it at the Kokuwamon.  
  
The Kokuwamon fled as quickly as they could so as to avoid being crushed under several tons of scrap metal.  
  
"Nice," said Ryo. "Now come on! There's a lot of ground yet to cover."  
  
"Halt!" ordered two Gardromon that appeared from around another building.  
  
"We don't have time for this," said Ryo.  
  
Cyberdramon unexpectedly grabbed Ryo and pulled him up onto his back as he took to the air. Ryo grabbed on tight as the wind and scenery rushed past him. Cyberdramon weaved expertly in between buildings, through tight corners and under sky-bridges.  
  
"There!" said Cyberdramon.  
  
Ryo twisted around to see where Cyberdramon was looking. He saw dozens of tightly-packed factories, but one particular one was badly damaged. There was a large hole in one of the walls and a smoke tower had been knocked over. The area was abuzz with activity.  
  
"Wait here…" said Cyberdramon.  
  
"Wha—"  
  
Cyberdramon swooped in low and then performed a roll that caused Ryo to lose his grip. Ryo dropped like a stone…right onto a rooftop not ten feet below. The fall gave him just barely enough time to curl up into a ball so he could hit the ground in a roll. Cyberdreamon meanwhile headed into the fray. He landed right in the middle of dozens of mechanical digimon who were apparently moving heavy machinery and manufactured goods from the factory to some uncertain location.  
  
Cyberdramon hit the ground hard; so hard in fact that the cement cracked under his feet. He rose slowly up to his full height, growling as he grew. His first opponent came in fast. It was a Gardromon who was ready to crack Cyberdramon's head. Cyberdramon merely kicked the mechanical mon in the stomach, shoving him back into a line of workers. Cyberdramon stood again, motionless. He was now completely encircled by angered digimon.  
  
One of them, another Mekanorimon, cried out, "An intruder!"  
  
"Eliminate the target," said a second.  
  
"And then complete the loading," finished the third.  
  
All three Mekanorimon charged at once. Cyberdramon struck the one before him with a punch to the chest while the other two grabbed his shoulders from behind. Cyberdramon pulled out of their grasp and spun around, kicking one in the side and sending it plowing into the other. The first Mekanorimon came back with a series of jabs from its sharp claws, but Cyberdramon sidestepped or ducked every one of them before dropping to the ground and kicking the Mekanorimon's feet out right from under him. Cyberdramon shoved himself up into the air just in time to avoid a shot from one of the other Mekanorimon's Twin Beams. He performed a back-flip in mid-air and came down hard on the mechanical digimon's cockpit, crushing the glass dome and everything inside. Cyberdramon jumped back down to the ground as the Mekanorimon wobbled, fell, and exploded. The other two came at him as fast as they could, hacking and slashing with their fearsome claws. Cyberdramon once again dodged their blows with ease. After one attempted strike, Cyberdramon grabbed the Mekanorimon's arm before he could pull back and yanked the appendage right out of its socket.  
  
"Need a hand?" asked Cyberdramon, letting the arm drop.  
  
The two Mekanorimon stood with unemotional looks on their cold, metal faces. The extracted arm writhed on the ground with the last of its electrical energy.  
  
"Threat level larger than expected."  
  
"Do we flee or engage?"  
  
"Engage, of course."  
  
"He is…"  
  
"…The enemy."  
  
The dozens upon dozens of other mechanical digimon that had up until then been merely watching or transporting equipment suddenly all dropped what they were doing. Their eyes flashed red and all turned their focus to Cyberdramon.  
  
"The threat must be eliminated."  
  
"The Grand Scheme will be preserved."  
  
"Time to die," Cyberdramon said with a growl as he got his claws ready for an ever more intense battle.  
  
The two remaining Mekanorimon from the first fight charged, one in front of the other. Cyberdramon lunged at the same time. He drove his right through the first Mekanorimon and into the second. When they stopped struggling, Cyberdramon peeled them off his arm and let them drop.  
  
"Who's next?" he asked.  
  
Instantly, all of the other digimon charged him together. He kicked a Hagurumon into the crowd, sliced a Gardromon down the middle, crushed a few Kokuwamon under his feet, punched his way through a few Tankmon, and kicked a few Mekanorimon around. And still they kept coming. Cyberdramon was letting his punches and kicks fly in every direction, taking down one after another in a fearsome frenzy. But they were still all round him. He clawed off a Tankmon's arm as it was firing at him and turned it back on its owner. He picked up a Mekanorimon by its arms and swung it wildly around, pummeling any digimon that came close. One brave Gardromon tried to leap at him, but Cyberdramon released the Mekanorimon just in time to send it flying right into the Gardromon. Cyberdramon hit a BigMamemon in the face with a flying kick and sent it rolling back into the crowd, crushing a few digimon. He balled his hand into a fist and let an advancing Giromon have it right in the face, launching it well beyond the mob's edge. A small army of Mamemon became shrapnel when Cyberdramon started hitting them back into the crowd at speeds fast enough to send them bursting through their allies' bodies. A MetalMamemon became the victim of its own Smirk Bomb when Cyberdramon punched the attack right back.  
  
And still Cyberdramon kicked and punched his opponents on all sides and still they came. One Mekanorimon was able to come up from behind and grab onto him, but a quick elbow to the face took care of that. Another Giromon came up ready to let loose with his chainsaw, but Cyberdramon backhanded him into the crowd. A Gardromon jumped over the incoming Giromon and tried to score a punch on Cyberdramon, but Cybderamon caught its fist, grabbed on tight, and kicked the machine's body so hard that the Gardromon's body went sailing back while its arm stayed put. Cyberdramon then used the severed arm to bludgeon a few Hagurumon, Solarmon and Kokuwamon that had gotten a little close for comfort. A Clockmon came in ready to strike with his mallet, but Cyberdramon stepped out of the way of the falling weapon and threw the Gardromon's arm at Clockmon's face. Cyberdramon was so busy taking care of Clockmon that he was unable to keep from being tackled from behind by a Tankmon. The beast was too heavy to escape from instantly, and soon there were even more digimon piling on, biting and scratching and clawing whatever part of Cyberdramon's body they could get at.  
  
"Cyberdramon…!" said Ryo as he watched the writhing mass of digimon that had engulfed his friend.  
  
Cyberdramon was not about to take this kind of insult lying down. A great yell could be heard welling up from deep within the pile of monsters, growing louder and louder with every passing second. Despite how deep within the crowd it was, the yell shook the ground and buildings, echoed off the mountains, caused the lake to tremble and the skies to pull back. And then it all came to a peak when Cyberdramon exploded from the crowd in a rage, tossing and ripping the machines from his body, kicking and clawing those that held on. His fangs were bared, his muscles bulged, his rage peaked. One after another he pummeled his enemies, but just as before they came. Two Mekanorimon charged him from opposite sides. He jumped and kicked both in the head. Another Clockmon came up, swinging its mallet wildly. He dodged it twice on the inside before letting Clockmon have it with a solid punch to the face. Clockmon hadn't even hit the ground though by the time a MetalMamemon came up and tried to let Cyberdramon have it with his fearsome Metal Claw. Cyberdramon blocked the strikes, which scratched his tough, metallic hide. After a few blows Cyberdramon had had enough and simply batted MetalMamemon away, sending him into a crushed Mekanorimon. A whole line of Datamon came in, launching their Nano Swarm attack from their fingers. The tiny bombs raked Cyberdramon's body up and down, and it became clear to him that there was only one way to attack this line: right through the middle. He lunged forward, getting right in among the Datamon. They tried to wrap him up in their tentacle-like arms, but he tore their weak bodies apart, snapping arms, casings, and glass skulls. They never stood a chance. A whole circle of Mekanorimon came at him together. They were within inches when Cyberdramon decided that he'd had enough he took to the air with such force that the incoming Mekanorimon were all knocked down. Now, however, he found himself open to projectile attacks from every digimon on the ground, so Cybderdramon had to do some of the fanciest flying of his life in order to avoid being brought down. He went higher and higher, avoiding attacks on all sides. And finally, when he was high enough, he flipped right over and faced his enemies with both claws out at his sides.  
  
"Deletion Claw!"  
  
Cyberdramon slammed his claws together in front of him and let it all out. His terrifying attack absolutely cleared the ground of life. The extreme rapidity and undeniable power of the Deletion Claw simply shredded the machines that had covered the ground. They fell one after another, some with dozens of basketball-sized holes in their bodies. Nothing was safe from Cyberdramon's rage as he pounded through one opponent after another. None of them stood a chance. On more than a few occasions he got a few digimon with one hit, and he'd usually keep it up until both machines had been utterly annihilated. A few minutes later, when Cyberdramon's attack slowed to a stop, all that moved on the battlefield was the dust and debris picked up by the wind.  
  
Exhausted from the fight, Cyberdramon panted as he lazily flew back to the rooftop where Ryo still stood. He landed and kneeled for a moment. Ryo regarded him quietly.  
  
"You did well," was all he said.  
  
Cyberdramon sucked in air for a few minutes longer. "Get on," he finally said.  
  
Ryo calmly climbed up Cyberdramon's back and the two of them flew back down to the battlefield. There they found the rapidly disintegrating bodies of the mechanical digimon, as well as the various pieces of equipment they had been carrying.  
  
"You know," Ryo said as he studied some of the parts and manufacturing equipment, "I think this stuff is supposed to be for making weapons."  
  
"Weapons?" asked Cyberdramon as he kicked aside a broken Tankmon.  
  
"Yeah," said Ryo. "Some of these pieces look like upgrades for Mekanorimon. And these over here look like they go with Tankmon. And here are some pieces for Hagurumon. And this over here looks like a whole lot of ammunition. I'd hate to say it, but it looks to me like someone's getting geared up for a war."  
  
"War?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Just then, Ryo's digivice began to beep. He quickly drew it from his pocket and held it up. A holographic circle spread out from the display screen and there appeared his mother's face.  
  
"Ryo, we need to talk," the image of Elena said.  
  
"How can you—"  
  
"I'm afraid there's little time to explain that. Things have changed. You need to return to your own world immediately. Don't ask questions."  
  
"But Cyberdramon and I are in this city in the west and we discovered all this equipment. I think someone's getting ready for a major battle."  
  
"I'm sorry Ryo, but you've got to leave."  
  
"Look, I'm not going anywhere until I get a decent explanation."  
  
Elena sighed. "Okay. Meet me in the Tiger Gate as soon as you can, alright? I'll tell you what I can, but after that you've got to get yourself home."  
  
"I'll get there as soon as I can."  
  
The image disappeared and Ryo shoved his digivice back into his pocket.  
  
"Cyberdramon!" he called out.  
  
"We leaving?" Cyberdramon asked.  
  
"Yeah. We'll have to come back later for all this. Let's go."  
  
"My dear, what makes you think you CAN go?" asked a very sultry feminine voice from above and behind.  
  
Ryo quickly turned around and both he and Cyberdramon looked up to see a dark figure slowly descending to the ground. It was LadyDevimon.  
  
"And just who are you?" Ryo asked suspiciously.  
  
"I, dear boy, am LadyDevimon of the Demon Corps, the personal guard of the Destroyer."  
  
"Don't forget me," said a dry, cruel voice.  
  
Cyberdramon and Ryo turned around to see another figure had appeared directly behind Cyberdramon.  
  
"I am also from the Demon Corps," he explained. "You may call me…SkullSatamon."  
  
"We're here to do the Destroyer's will," LadyDevimon explained. "And he wills us to see that operations here go smoothly."  
  
"You have caused us to fail," SkullSatamon continued. "Those who go against the Destroyer's will must pay with their lives."  
  
"Playtime is over, boys," said LadyDevimon as she extended her deadly claws.  
  
Setomon lay in the grass again. He could see a great mountain rising up on the southern horizon, as large as any he had ever seen. The breeze was more constant now, more cooling. But while Setomon knew he still had a long journey ahead of him, the end of it felt closer than it had back on File Island. It felt much closer.  
  
He lay in the tall, arid grasses, his tail swishing back and forth like a fan. The sky overhead was perfectly clear, as it always was. Suddenly, Setomon heard a noise. His head shot up out of the grass and he looked around nervously, grass shavings floating down off his mane. What he saw was a sphere of pure data just rolling along the ground like tumbleweed. Setomon groaned. It was not the first time since leaving the Blimpmon that he'd encountered one of these data packets. Beyond keeping from touching them, Setomon had lost his interest in such things. He had larger concerns now.  
  
"What do I do, Guilmon?"  
  
The wind blew and the grasses rustled, but Setomon perceived no answer in their sounds.  
  
"What can I do? I guess I could go back to the island. I could also just find somewhere and settle down."  
  
Setomon paused to bury his head in the grass.  
  
"…Or I could keep going."  
  
Setomon cringed in a sudden jolt of pain.  
  
"I don't want to, but I have to. The dreams…I have to find him. I have to find that creature. I have to find Amadeus. Only when they are gone can I sleep peacefully."  
  
The wind picked up its pace momentarily and then calmed once again.  
  
"I guess I don't really have a choice anymore. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to escape the path I've set off on. I wonder, did I ever have a choice? I've always been at someone else's mercy. I followed Elecmon up the mountain whether I wanted to go or not. I followed Guilmon off the island because I thought I was supposed to. I kept going the same way we had been going. I've been doing what Setomon said, following her through this wasteland."  
  
Setomon's expression sank.  
  
"She said I was free, but I'm not. I'm not free at all. I've never made a choice. I don't even think there is such a thing as choice."  
  
Setomon was silent for a short time. The wind and grasses moved just as before, completely ignorant of his presence.  
  
"I could keep going, return, or stay. But I've already chosen to keep going. I just don't have a good reason why yet."  
  
He was silent for a few more minutes.  
  
"Dammit."  
  
Setomon closed his eyes and let the wind run its fingers through his mane. The wind was blind. It couldn't tell whether it rustled grass or hair. It didn't matter. For once, Setomon could lay and rest, completely hidden and forgotten by the world. He heard more sounds.  
  
"Stupid data packets…" he said, keeping his eyes closed and curling up a little more.  
  
"Think again!" he heard a sinister voice say.  
  
He felt three weapons rudely shoved up against his head from all sides. His eyes shot open and he knew he was surrounded. Three nearly identical figures in red stood all around him.  
  
"Don't even think about moving," said the first of them.  
  
"We're under orders to make sure you don't get any further," said the second.  
  
"So don't make this more painful than it has to be," said the third.  
  
"W-who are you?" Setomon asked nervously.  
  
"We are the three FlaWizardmon."  
  
"Armor digimon all."  
  
"And your executioners."  
  
"Who sent you?" Setomon demanded with a little added confidence.  
  
"Someone who no one refuses."  
  
"Now if you are just about done, we really do have a schedule to keep."  
  
"Just one more question," Setomon said slyly.  
  
"What?!" demanded all three FlaWizardmon.  
  
"Do you feel lucky?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
One of the FlaWizardmon felt something poke his shoulder from behind. He spun around only to be met with the sight of Setomon's tail right in his face. Setomon used his tail to give the FlaWizardmon just enough of a nudge to send him tripping back over his would-be prey and into his companions. At the same time, Setomon lashed out at the legs of the other two with his previously docile claws, pulling their legs out from under them. Setomon was able to leap away in the confusion, putting about twenty feet between himself and his adversaries, who had already recovered their composure.  
  
"How unfortunate that you've decided to make this hard," the first said with obvious frustration.  
  
"We'll just have to end your life as painfully as the possible," said the second.  
  
"And I might add we have grown exceedingly skilled in that area," the third said with a wicked smile.  
  
Setomon said nothing. He was too busy studying them. This was his first chance to get a clear view of the three and he didn't want to miss anything. They were humanoid in form, first of all, but were short in stature—no more than four feet tall at the greatest. They were also clad in ornate, though functionless red clothing. They appeared very flashy but they were probably ill-prepared for a direct attack. They were also physically thin, though possibly quite athletic. Each carried a pair of rods as their weapons, one red and one blue. Their faces were sinister, gray, hidden under their wide-brimmed hats.  
  
"Not in the mood to talk?"  
  
"That's just fine."  
  
"Kill him!"  
  
The three FlaWizardmon sprung into action…literally. While the outer two ran off to circle around Setomon, the center one jumped right at him. Setomon leaped back out of the way just as FlaWizardmon came in and struck the ground where Setomon had stood with his rod. The attack was delivered with such force that the ground exploded when struck, tossing dirt and grass in every direction. Setomon was awe-struck at the sight, and unable to keep from being grabbed from behind by the two other FlaWizardmon. The third FlaWizardmon quickly stood again with a grim expression and aimed his red rod at the captured Setomon.  
  
"Fire Cloud!"  
  
A stream of flame exploded from the FlaWizardmon's weapon, shooting at Setomon. Setomon Closed his eyes, bit down, and made his move.  
  
"Fire Flash!"  
  
A wall of fire shot up around Setomon, knocking back his captors and absorbing the attack. Landing on his feet, Setomon turned his attention first to the FlaWizardmon that stood before him. His eyes burned with the same intensity as the flame around him and he lunged forward. The FlaWizardmon jumped into the air though, landing behind Setomon and rejoining his two companions. Setomon's flame dissipated as he turned around again to face his adversaries.  
  
"He's a tricky one."  
  
"But still…"  
  
"…We can handle him."  
  
All three FlaWizardmon drew out their blue rods, so now they all carried a weapon in each hand. They charged at Setomon with their weapons raised. The lead FlaWizardmon struck first, swinging his blue rod at Setomon's face. Setomon shifted to the side but had to duck immediately to avoid being clobbered by another FlaWizardmon. Setomon jumped back to avoid being caught on the snout by another blow, but his luck ran out when he was caught on the side of the head by a fierce strike. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but it did open him to even more blows. He was being pummeled from every angle. Their attacks fell upon him even faster than he could feel them. Finally the lead FlaWizardmon gave him a solid kick to the jaw, tossing him through the air and onto his back.  
  
The three FlaWizardmon looked at one another and nodded. They slowly spread out around Setomon in a circle as he struggled back to his feet. His face was battered and bruised; his legs trembled as he rose again. But he was not afraid. He was not weak. He had made his choice, and that was not to die.  
  
The FlaWizardmon swung their rods out wide and Setomon felt a strong force surround him. The FlaWizardmon had filled the air with something.  
  
"Magic Ignition!" they all shouted, striking their red and blue rods against one another.  
  
The air exploded in a terrible inferno. Setomon was tossed, set on fire, robbed of his air. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see; all he could feel was the intense pain all around him. He was about to die and there was no way out. Once again he had no say in his fate. Once again the choice had been made for him.  
  
But then he sensed something. Time seemed to slow down and the pain became unimportant. He heard his digivice activate. He knew what it meant. He could remember his dream; there was no ignoring it now. He remembered everything. He was a human in his dreams, and he had met with that Amadeus again. Amadeus had placed something into his digivice. The digivice contained a new code, a powerful code. Setomon would be able to digivolve with it once more and save his life. But the code was evil. He didn't know how, but the code possessed an evil aura, a power to change who he was. He feared it, but it was his only way to survive. That was what Amadeus had meant. This was Setomon's choice: digivolve and become evil, or die and remain free, remain himself. But Setomon had already made his choice, and he knew he wasn't free.  
  
The three FlaWizardmon watched the swelling inferno with glee, proud as ever of their success. They were ready to turn and leave, but something happened. The flames started to go out of control.  
  
"What the—?" all three asked at once.  
  
Suddenly the inferno exploded. The flames that had previously been concentrated were tossed out in every direction, scorching the three FlaWizardmon and terrain alike. At the source of the explosion stood pillar of flame, stretching from the ground to the sky, twisting and turning, frying everything it touched.  
  
"Setomon…digivolve to…!"  
  
The three FlaWizardmon all looked up in terror. The pillar of fire suddenly dissipated, sending flame and scorched ground flying in every direction. And there, where it had been, stood a figure. He was a huge, hulking beast at nine feet tall. His gargantuan shoulders and arms dwarfed his short, yet powerful legs. His savage, sloping brow was covered in spiked red hair. Around his waste was a leather belt with a steel buckle; hanging from his left ear were a pair of steel earrings. He wore a large iron ring around his left ankle, a few leather straps around his left wrist, and steel beads on a few locks of hair that hung down behind his ears. There were patches of black fur in designs on his face and on top of his enormous hands, as well as three black strips on his right shoulder and one on his left leg. His tail was shorter than before, but maintained the same basic look. His fur was colored in a pattern similar to how it had been when he was Setomon. One of the more startling features about this new form, however, was the pair of giant canine teeth jutting from his upper jaw and hanging nearly to his thick chest.  
  
"…SaberSetomon." he growled in a much deeper voice than before.  
  
One of the FlaWizardmon, overcome by fear, turned and started to run. SaberSetomon's attention was grabbed instantly and he made a terrific leap through the air, landing right in front of the relatively puny digimon with a thunderous crash. The FlaWizardmon had only enough time to shake in his boots before SaberSetomon pulled his arm back to strike.  
  
"Inferno Fist!"  
  
SaberSetomon's arm was engulfed in flame and he delivered a punch of immense power right to the FlaWizardmon's chest. The armor digimon never stood a chance. He was thrown back nearly a hundred yards, bounced once, and disintegrated before he hit the ground again.  
  
The two remaining FlaWizardmon were infuriated. They charged SaberSetomon together, yelling at the top of their lungs. As soon as they were in range, SaberSetomon merely swept them out of the way with a grand swipe from his arm. The two of them were tossed and landed in a heap some twenty feet off to the side. As soon as they were up again, SaberSetomon was right on top of them.  
  
"Stay back!" they both shouted.  
  
It was too late. SaberSetomon clasped his hands together to form a single fist. He lifted his hands up over his back and then brought them down again very hard, right onto the FlaWizardmon. They were slain instantly.  
  
With the FlaWizardmon silenced, SaberSetomon was alone again. His breathing was short and heavy. His shoulders pulsated with every breath. His pupils had shrunk down, and there was warm blood on his hands. The choice had been made. 


	22. Dual Demons

"Stay close…" Cyberdramon whispered.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," Ryo replied.  
  
The two of them stood back-to-back with LadyDevimon on one side and SkullSatamon on the other.  
  
"Foolish little children," said LadyDevimon, sharpening her claws. "You need to be taught some manners."  
  
"I'm going to enjoy this," SkullSatamon said with a wicked little laugh.  
  
"Shall we?" asked LadyDevimon.  
  
"Let's," SkullSatamon responded.  
  
In a sudden burst of speed the two of them charged Cyberdramon together from opposite directions.  
  
"Move!" shouted Cyberdramon swatting Ryo out of the way just in time.  
  
Ryo flew back and hit the ground hard, but as he fell he saw Cyberdramon receive a punch to the face from LadyDevimon and a whack to the knee from SkullSatamon. The two demons kept on going. They landed opposite where they had started and Cyberdramon fell to his knees after the blow.  
  
"Pathetic," said LadyDevimon.  
  
"Finish this," said SkullSatamon.  
  
The two of them charged again, this time with SkullSatamon raising his staff up over his head and gripping it tightly with both hands while LadyDevimon came in low and with her claw ready to draw blood. They made their moves…and were stopped in their tracks. Cyberdramon had caught SkullSatamon's swinging staff in one hand and caught LadyDevimon's claw underneath his foot, pinning her down.  
  
"Yes!" Ryo said to himself.  
  
Cyberdramon used his free hand to deliver a solid punch to SkullSatamon's chest, knocking him back and tearing his staff from his hands. Cyberdramon instantly turned the weapon on LadyDevimon, striking her in the face with it and hurling her into a pile of empty wooden crates. She slowly rose up and wiped the blood from her lip with a slight smile.  
  
"Getting better," she said.  
  
"We have no time for this," advised SkullSatamon, who was back on his feet again.  
  
"There's always time for a little fun," said LadyDevimon.  
  
"Somehow, I doubt the master will see it that way."  
  
LadyDevimon frowned a little. Both she and SkullSatamon looked at Cyberdramon intensely. Cyberdramon tossed SkullSatamon's staff off to the side, but through some kind of telekinesis, SkullSatamon summoned it back to him.  
  
"Die!" both demons shouted as they charged once more.  
  
Cyberdramon braced himself, for he knew the fighting was about to get much more intense. The first two blows fell simultaneously, which he blocked with his right knee and left forearm. He then quickly turned and struck SkullSatamon in the chest and twisted back to deliver a palm strike to LadyDevimon's face while kicking at SkullSatamon behind. LadyDevimon bent back so that the palm strike passed right over her while SkullSatamon twisted out of the way of the kick. LadyDevimon, still bent back, slammed her knee up into Cyberdramon's gut. SkullSatamon meanwhile grabbed him by the shoulder. Though pained by the blow from LadyDevimon, Cyberdramon was quick to pull SkullSatamon's hand from his shoulder and strike him in the face with the backside of his fist. LadyDevimon sent another kick to Cyberdramon's gut, but this time he caught it while still focused on SkullSatamon. Cyberdramon threw LadyDevimon's leg up in the air and she went along with it, performing a flawless back-flip. Free from the distraction of LadyDevimon, Cyberdramon delivered a powerhouse kick straight to SkullSatamon's chest that tossed him back into a brick wall. LadyDevimon meanwhile was back and tossed several kicks to Cyberdramon's head, which he was able to dodge with a certain degree of difficulty before he retaliated by tripping LadyDevimon's grounded leg while she performed a kick. LadyDevimon took it all in stride though. As she fell she kicked Cyberdramon's chest, sending herself into a spin so that she could catch herself on her hands. She completed the flip and went right back to punching Cyberdramon hard in the chest. He blocked punch after punch and soon enough was able to grab a solid hold on both of LadyDevimon's hands, to which she responded by leaning forward very fast and bringing her right leg up over her back to strike Cyberdramon right in the snout. He stumbled back and released her hands, freeing her to deliver a flying kick to his chest and sending him flying backwards. SkullSatamon stood directly in Cyberdramon's flight path, and just as Cyberdramon reached him he took a swing with his staff. Cyberdramon came to a bone-shattering stop as he was cracked over the head. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks and just lay there, looking up at the bleak sky far overhead. But a few seconds later the visage of SkullSatamon blocked out the sky as he lifted his weapon to strike.  
  
"Nail Bone!" SkullSatamon shouted as he brought the curved end of his staff down toward Cyberdramon's head.  
  
Cyberdramon rolled out of the way with no time to spare and the staff let out a bright spark when it struck the cold, hard cement. SkullSatamon struck again but Cyberdramon rolled, once more narrowly avoiding the attack. SkullSatamon went for it once more, but this time Cyberdramon leaped up into the air and brought the back of his fist to meet SkullSatamon's face once more. SkullSatamon was tossed, but there was LadyDevimon to take his place. She came rushing in with her ferocious left claw, and she was no longer hesitant about using it. With bloodlust in her eyes, she slashed wildly at Cyberdramon with her terrible weapon. He blocked her strikes as best as he could, but with every one he was forced to take another step back. Finally Cyberdramon had had enough. He batted her hand away but that only led her to perform a complete spin, bringing her booted foot up to meet his face. Cyberdramon was once again sent flying. He recovered quickly enough, but when he did he found both LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon standing before him, ready to strike.  
  
"The master warned us about you," said SkullSatamon.  
  
"He told us not to underestimate digimon who had been joined to humans," LadyDevimon added.  
  
"Obviously he thinks too much of you."  
  
"Your death will bring us great rewards."  
  
The two demons leapt into action once again, but Cyberdramon took to the air just in time so that LadyDevimon's kick hit nothing but air and SkullSatamon's heavy-handed strike decimated nothing but concrete. Now visibly irked, the two demon digimon took off in pursuit of Cyberdramon. They were fast, too. SkullSatamon appeared right before Cyberdramon's eyes with a devilish grin.  
  
"Nail Bone!"  
  
SkullSatamon thrust his weapon at Cyberdramon again, but Cyberdramon spun out of the way and slammed his elbow down on the back of SkullSatamon's head. SkullSatamon was sent careening toward the streets below, but before Cyberdramon could celebrate his victory he found one of his arms wrapped up in a steel chain. Before he could break free he found himself being yanked back toward LadyDevimon. She pulled him in with such force that his body was shoved right up against hers. They were both still for a moment as LadyDevimon saw the reflection of her own sinister, crimson eyes in Cyberdramon's helm. She slid her right hand seductively up his chest, but then with lightning-quick moves she spun him around and wrapped her steel chain around his throat. Cyberdramon was being choked and his arms were pinned against his sides by the same chain. Then SkullSatamon reappeared before Cyberdramon.  
  
"Now to end this," he said cruelly. "Nail Bone!"  
  
Cyberdramon knew he had to act fast, and that was precisely what he did. With all his strength he flipped himself and LadyDevimon over. Instead of receiving SkullSatamon's attack himself, it was LadyDevimon who received the brunt of it. A powerful electrical surge ran through her body and transferred through her into Cyberdramon. SkullSatamon quickly realized his mistake and pulled back. LadyDevimon, her body now smoking, fell limp and released her grip on Cyberdramon. Cyberdramon pulled away from her and let her fall. Infuriated, SkullSatamon tried for Cyberdramon again, but this time Cyberdramon grabbed the weapon in his hand and pulled SkullSatamon toward him just to deliver a fantastic punch to the demon's face. SkullSatamon likewise fell to the ground far below after such a hit. With both SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon at least momentarily dispatched, Cyberdramon returned to the ground to catch his breath.  
  
"Cyberdramon!" Ryo shouted as he quickly ran up to his partner. "We've got to get out of here."  
  
Cyberdramon only snarled. He was still clearly itching for a fight.  
  
"Cyberdramon, come on! We have to get while the getting's good!"  
  
"No! Fight!" Cyberdramon shouted.  
  
Ryo was about to persist but then SkullSatamon reappeared from around the corner of a building.  
  
"This has been quite an interesting encounter," SkullSatamon mused. "But, I'm afraid I've run out of patience. It's time to show off my real skills."  
  
Cyberdramon wasn't about to wait for a demonstration. Instead he charged at full speed and thrust his fist at SkullSatamon. Cyberdramon's punch hit and completely obliterated…the concrete ground. Somehow, SkullSatamon had completely dodged Cyberdramon's attack without Ryo or Cyberdramon having seen it.  
  
"Idiot," SkullSatamon said mockingly from where he now stood atop the building he had just come around.  
  
Cyberdramon sprung into action again and sent another punch SkullSatamon's way, but again the demon simply vanished at the last moment.  
  
"…The hell?" asked Ryo.  
  
Ryo was struck by an idea. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his D-Power. He held it before him aimed at SkullSatamon and waited for the holographic display to come up with something. It did a couple seconds later.  
  
"SkullSatamon," Ryo read. "His attacks are Nail Bone and Skull Hammer. Cruel, sadistic, yadda, yadda, yadda… I don't see anything in here about teleportation. I guess it must be all speed."  
  
Neither Cyberdramon nor SkullSatamon were paying any attention to Ryo. Cyberdramon continued to send one vicious attack after another toward SkullSatamon and the demon dodged each and every one of them. There was simply no possible way for Cyberdramon to compete with such speed. Then SkullSatamon made his move. As Cyberdramon leaned forward for another punch, SkullSatamon moved behind him in a blur and struck him in the back with his Nail Bone. A surge of energy rippled through Cyberdramon's body. Cyberdramon twisted to claw at SkullSatamon, but the dark digimon moved back to Cyberdramon's front and continued to let him feel the full strength of his Nail Bone attack. This continued for nearly twenty more seconds with Cyberdramon continuously trying to get at SkullSatamon but always being out-maneuvered. Perhaps inevitably, Cyberdramon collapsed, unable to move.  
  
"I must say I am impressed," said SkullSatamon. "There are even some Megas that can't stand more than a quick jolt from that attack without collapsing into paralysis. And now to finish things…"  
  
SkullSatamon flipped his staff around to use his Skull Hammer attack on Cyberdramon, an attack which most certainly would have killed him if he couldn't defend against it. But just as SkullSatamon was about to strike, Cyberdramon leapt into action once more. He kicked SkullSatamon in the chest and then tackled him. The two fell off the roof and back onto the street where they rolled once before Cyberdramon managed to stand again and plowed SkullSatamon into another building. Cyberdramon then wrapped his fists around SkullSatamon's throat and started to squeeze.  
  
"Playing…possum?" SkullSatamon wheezed.  
  
"Speed won't save you now…" Cyberdramon snarled.  
  
"Release him!" the cruel voice of LadyDevimon ordered.  
  
Cyberdramon glanced over to where the voice had come from and saw LadyDevimon holding Ryo, the bladelike fingers of her left hand resting on his throat. Cyberdramon did not release SkullSatamon, but he did ease up somewhat on the squeezing.  
  
"I said," LadyDevimon tightened her grip on Ryo's neck just enough to draw a little blood, "release him."  
  
LadyDevimon was absolutely calm. Cyberdramon could tell that she did not care for SkullSatamon's fate in the least. Ryo's expression was a frustrated one rather than frightened. He was embarrassed over having been caught so easily and looking for any means of escape open to him.  
  
Cyberdramon grinned and tightened his grip on SkullSatamon all the more. LadyDevimon smiled back and tightened her grip as well. Pain was written all over Ryo's face.  
  
"Humans are such fragile creatures," said LadyDevimon. "I suspect this one will give out long before SkullSatamon."  
  
Cyberdramon shifted his footing slightly.  
  
"Confident, aren't we? Not even SkullSatamon could get here in time to stop me."  
  
Cyberdramon growled, but relented. His hands came off SkullSatamon's throat, and SkullSatamon responded by kicking him in the stomach. Cyberdramon was shoved back a bit, but still stood. His attention was on LadyDevimon and Ryo. LadyDevimon shifted her hands to lick the blood from her claws.  
  
"And thus is revealed the true weakness of digimon who are joined to humans," she said. "Let's see how you respond to this!"  
  
She stiffened her claw and took aim for Ryo's back. Cyberdramon lunged to stop her but there was no way for him to make it in time. Then, just as LadyDevimon was about to strike, Ryo's digivice lit up like a flashlight, temporarily blinding LadyDevimon and causing her to reel back. She released Ryo and he was free to make his escape from her. Cyberdramon meanwhile continued his charge and arrived just in time to pummel LadyDevimon into the ground. But even in her dazed state she was able to kick Cyberdramon away and back-flip onto her feet. SkullSatamon appeared at her side a moment later. Opposite them stood Ryo and Cyberdramon, both with their share of injuries. From both this battle and those that preceded it, Cyberdramon was almost totally depleted. He had sustained more than twice the injuries of either SkullSatamon or LadyDevimon and was breathing very heavily. Then Ryo noticed his digivice was still glowing.  
  
"Cyberdramon," he said.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I think we need a new strategy, or maybe an old one."  
  
"I'm all ears."  
  
"I just hope I remember how to do this…" Ryo held his digivice out in front of him and put on his most heroic face. "Biomerge activate!"  
  
For Ryo it was like losing consciousness as he fell back into a different state of being. The whole experience was like a dream in a way. He knew his body was there, but he didn't really feel it in the same way anymore. He existed inside another body and seemed to control both. Cyberdramon too found it a disconcerting experience, having his mind joined to that of another being. He was, however, used to it by now.  
  
"Cyberdramon biomerge to…Justimon!"  
  
From the explosion of light emerged a new digimon, with the human and Cyberdramon nowhere to be seen.  
  
"What is going on?!" demanded SkullSatamon.  
  
"I was not informed about this!" said LadyDevimon.  
  
Justimon stood there in the dust, a humanoid digimon in strange armor with his long red scarf blowing in the wind.  
  
"Then maybe it's time you two learn a thing or two about Tamers…" said Justimon. "Justice Kick!"  
  
Justimon opened with a flying kick directed at SkullSatamon. SkullSatamon blocked with his staff and Justimon dropped to the ground. SkullSatamon swung his staff at him but Justimon jumped back out of harm's way.  
  
"Sorry, but I don't have any time to spare for you guys," said Justimon.  
  
Justimon's cybernetic right arm began to change shape, becoming larger and bulkier with only three broad fingers. He leaped toward SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon.  
  
"Thunder Clap!"  
  
Justimon slapped the ground right in front of the two demon digimon, creating both an electrical explosion all around him and an earthquake that nearly caused all the ground within a hundred yards to completely collapse in on itself. LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon were tossed, but before they landed SkullSatamon grabbed LadyDevimon by the waist and took off at full speed, which easily outpaced Justimon. Justimon was not about to pursue them though. Instead he watched them go and then started running to the east and the Tiger Gate, where he had a pressing appointment to keep.  
  
SaberSetomon stood there, feeling the rage in his belly slowly subsiding. The blood of the three FlaWizardmon was still wet on his hands and he hadn't moved from that spot since he'd killed them nearly a half hour earlier. His breaths came more calmly now, but he still felt a dark presence within himself. Then, a sharp pain rushed up his arms and legs, up his chest and spine, up his entire body and right into his brain. His head felt as though it was on fire. He gripped his head in both hands and cried out in agony before collapsing in a heap on the dry, gravelly ground.  
  
SaberSetomon was there again, all alone in that infinite, empty world. Then the same light appeared in the distance. It was the dim, menacing, crimson light; it was very faint as always, but it was growing more intense by the second. He heard strange sounds from the void; clicks, heavy breathing, and the noise of some foul creature slithering about echoed all around him. He no longer tried to look away from the light, but stared straight at it. How he hated that light in all its fiery intensity. Then the long, black tentacles appeared again, made of polished black bone and shining in the red light. They were like terrible vipers moving in for the kill. The intense heat overcame him again, but he did not shy away from it. This time he was resolute. This time, he was different. This time, he was still awake. No matter how close the tendrils drew, SaberSetomon did not shrink from them. They tore his flesh open whenever they touched him, but still he did not care. And then, the raspy, venomous voice spoke in his ear.  
  
"Welcome back, SaberSetomon."  
  
SaberSetomon spun around and suddenly he found himself in a dark chamber with a burning figure before him. The contrasting light and dark of the being made its form nearly impossible to determine, but it stood over him with its long, black tendrils and fiery eyes.  
  
"Who are you?" SaberSetomon demanded.  
  
"I am your new master."  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh yes I am. I gave you your choice. I gave you your new strength. And I gave you the desire to do my will."  
  
SaberSetomon was silent.  
  
"Even now you feel it inside you.  
  
Even now it grows.  
  
Ever hungry, ever seeking,  
  
Ever desiring the blood of both friends and foes."  
  
SaberSetomon remained motionless.  
  
"Fight it all you want, but you will never win. My brother may have been named the Corrupter, but it is I who am the most talented in that area. I just happened to be even better at destroying."  
  
"I will never serve you."  
  
"Oh, but you must. It is part of you now. It is your code, your duty, your purpose. You chose service over death, and now there is no going back."  
  
The demon gave off an air of arrogance that was completely sickening, and SaberSetomon derived immense pleasure from what he said next.  
  
"My code is not for you to decide. My duty is up to me. My purpose is whatever I want it to be! And my choice is to live and to stop you!"  
  
SaberSetomon rose up to his full height and found himself eye-to-eye with the beast. The Destroyer searched SaberSetomon's eyes and found something truly unexpected. SaberSetomon had made his own choice.  
  
"This is impossible," the demon said in a frustrated tone.  
  
"Impossible or not, I don't take orders from you."  
  
SaberSetomon pushed his face right into the demon's. His fear was gone, and he liked it.  
  
"Damn you. Your progenitors must have been stronger than I thought. No matter."  
  
"I'm not scared," said SaberSetomon.  
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
Pain began to surge through SaberSetomon's brain in waves. His entire body shook and he collapsed onto one knee.  
  
"I can give you this kind of pain with a thought! I have destroyed entire continents and seen them sink below the boiling sea! I have been ravaging this world for over fifteen hundred years since before you existed! If there is anything to fear, IT IS ME!"  
  
SaberSetomon could take the pain no longer and collapsed. The creature bent over him and whispered in his ear.  
  
"I'll come for you soon enough. Until then, be plagued by the bloodlust I have instilled in you. Be forever tempted to slay those around you and be driven mad by the urge to take life and destroy peace."  
  
The swirling images faded away and SaberSetomon was left alone again. He was exhausted and still swimming in pain, but he had won the battle. He had stared into the demon's gaping maw and not only escaped to freedom but had plucked strength itself from beneath the beast's tongue. SaberSetomon knew at that moment that he had chosen two things: to survive and to be free. That was enough to earn him a short rest.  
  
Meanwhile, in the foreboding inner sanctum of the Hall of the Void Soul, the Destroyer awoke from his deep trance. He knew that he was not alone in the room.  
  
"Have you succeeded, Mephismon?" he asked of his servant, who stood at the door.  
  
"Beelzemon is on his way," Mephismon reported.  
  
"When will he arrive?"  
  
"It's a long trip, and he will have trouble finding us. A day at the very least. Nevertheless, he is coming. I would like my reward now."  
  
"You said he would be mine this very day."  
  
"Well, I suppose I—"  
  
"I told you I would hold you to your word."  
  
"But he is—"  
  
"You are a waste, Mephismon. You have failed in a very simple task. Why should I not slay you this very instant and load your data?"  
  
Mephismon lost his temper, as he often did. "Because I have seen fit to do your measly orders since day one! I've followed every one of your instructions! I've killed dozens of digimon for YOUR glory instead of mine! Over half of those digimon once joined to humans have had their blood mixed in my hands! If that is not good enough to earn your favor then I should leave this very moment and do things for myself again! At least then I'll be making progress!"  
  
"You're ambitious, Mephismon. I like that. I'll let you live, but don't forget that even after you earn my blessing, you'll still be no match for me."  
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
"I have no doubt that we will. Now I have one last task for you to complete. Do you recall the digimon I told you of before? The one you were not to kill?"  
  
"The Setomon."  
  
"Quite right. I am rescinding that order. Go and kill him immediately. Once it is done, the power will be yours."  
  
Mephismon grinned and bowed before turning to leave. As he passed through the enormous chamber doors, another digimon sauntered past him going in. They glanced at one another hostilely.  
  
"So you've returned," said the Destroyer to the new digimon. "Excellent."  
  
"It was enlightening, father," said the digimon.  
  
"Excellent. I see you have done some digivolving."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"But I see you have yet to complete your evolution."  
  
"I have failed."  
  
"I am becoming all-too-used to that, today. Even now, that useless pair I sent to watch over operations in the west are on the retreat. Beelzemon is still a day away from my service. And my ongoing interest has defied me once more."  
  
"Then perhaps it is time for a victory."  
  
"You are right, as usual. Now then, come closer, my child. Time runs short and I need you and the rest of my army as strong as possible when the war begins."  
  
"Is that why we have a new guest downstairs?"  
  
"Most definitely," the Destroyer said with a sinister chuckle. "That little find responded most favorably to a completed evolution. He may not have much in the way of smarts, but one cannot lead an army that thinks for itself."  
  
"Do you feel the same way about me?"  
  
"Well, Generals do need their lieutenants. Now come!"  
  
"Yes, father."  
  
Day 31  
  
Noon rolled around on a sunny day in Tokyo as Kari Kamiya walked up the steps to her apartment in a dreamy state. She'd been unable to focus on anything all day. She just kept thinking about the day before with that strange man and the little boy, and with TK missing it was almost too much for her to bear. She removed her keys from her purse and slid the door key into the lock. She turned and heard the lock click. She pushed the door open and was met by a dimly-lit room with the shades pulled shut and what appeared to be burning candles on the table.  
  
"What?" she wondered out loud.  
  
She put her purse on the entryway table and took off her shoes before entering. As she walked into the apartment she heard soft music come on. She walked up to the table where she observed the two candles in the darkened room, burning like a pair of fiendish eyes from some long-forgotten dream.  
  
"Hey there, beautiful."  
  
Kari spun around and her expression immediately turned joyous. She bounded forward and wrapped her arms around the man who had come up behind her.  
  
"TK!" she cried as she embraced him.  
  
"It's good to see you too," he said with a grin.  
  
"Where have you been?" she asked without releasing him. "I've been so worried about you. You didn't answer your cell phone and you've been gone since the other night and I was just so scared."  
  
"It's alright, it's alright," TK said reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm right here."  
  
Kari began to calm down and finally released TK. She took a step back and looked at him, unusually well-dressed in a full tuxedo right down to the red bow-tie.  
  
"You jerk!" she said, giving him a light slap on the chest.  
  
"Hey!" TK exclaimed playfully.   
  
"Where have you been at all this time?!"  
  
"I've been getting all set up for a little surprise."  
  
"Surprise?"  
  
"I thought we'd have a day out. Maybe go to the theater or dancing. How does that sound?"  
  
"It sounds lovely," said Kari.  
  
"Great! I've got us some tickets to a show downtown."  
  
"When does it start?"  
  
"In a couple hours."  
  
"I'd better get changed then. I can't go like this."  
  
"In my eyes, you couldn't get any more beautiful."  
  
"How sweet," Kari said as she ran off to change.  
  
"How sappy," said a voice from inside TK's jacket pocket.  
  
TK hurriedly reached into his jacket and pulled out his cell phone.  
  
"I don't care what you have to say, Matt. That line was gold!" he whispered.  
  
"Matt's right, son. No girl falls for that line anymore."  
  
"I don't care, dad! Are you guys ready?"  
  
"Banner ready for deployment," Matt said very officially. "But are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean—"  
  
"Great!" TK said, cutting him off and ignoring his question. "Now when I give the signal, you let it go."  
  
"You know, TK," said Matt, "it wasn't cheap to bribe our way up here."  
  
"Don't bring that up now!" said Mr. Ishida. "Don't worry, TK! I've got it covered."  
  
"Hey TK, where do you have that string quartet stashed away?"  
  
"They're holed up in the bathroom," TK said, looking over his shoulder nervously. "I hope they're good."  
  
"They're the best," Matt said reassuringly. "Did one of the violinists look familiar?"  
  
"Now that you mention it, he kind of did."  
  
"That's because that was Takashi."  
  
"Your old backup singer from the Teenage Wolves? Wow."  
  
"Hey TK?" Kari called from the bedroom.  
  
TK hurriedly shoved his cell phone back into his jacket pocket.  
  
"Yes, honey?"  
  
Kari came walking out, still dressed in her day clothes.  
  
"Do you think we can just sit for a little while and talk?"  
  
"Uh, sure," said TK, walking over to the couch.  
  
Kari followed him and they both sat down facing one another.  
  
"The thing is…" she started. "Do you remember what happened to Yolei a little while ago?"  
  
"She got engaged?"  
  
"No, the other thing."  
  
"Oh, you mean with that creepy guy in her store?"  
  
"Yeah. Well, I kind of met that man. He…attacked me."  
  
TK jumped up. "What?! Where is he?! Did they arrest him?! I'll go down to the police station and tear him limb from limb myself!"  
  
"No, TK. They didn't catch him. I'm fine. What really had me worried was that he threatened you."  
  
"Are you sure you're alright? I swear, I'll find this guy and when I do—"  
  
"I'm fine! Now sit back down."  
  
"Right, right…" TK said, calming down slightly.  
  
"It's just a couple bruises. The thing was, I was really worried about you. You weren't answering your calls, you weren't at work, you weren't here…and then when Davis came to pick me up, I—"  
  
"Kari, I want you to listen to me," said TK, looking her straight in the eyes. "I will always be here for you. You can count on me. I want to protect you…forever."  
  
Kari was not stupid. She could sense where this was about to lead, and she was not amused. But that was not what really did it to her. If it were just a proposal, she wouldn't have gotten as mad as she did. She stood, her eyebrow twitching furiously.  
  
"Protect me…?"  
  
"Um, Kari?"  
  
"Protect me?!" she exploded. "You want to protect me?! I've got some news for you, Takeru Takaishi! I am NOT a little girl anymore! I can watch out for myself and I don't always need someone around to take care of me! If you're looking for that same little girl you had to protect from Piedmon fourteen years ago, you're looking in the wrong place!"  
  
"Kari, I—"  
  
"No! You listen to me this time, TK!" Kari was on the verge of tears. "I'm sick of it! I'm sick of being treated like I'm weak! I may not be the strongest or the bravest, I may be quiet, but I am not going to be treated with kid gloves all of my life! Why can't you understand that I need to be my own woman?! Why can't you understand that I don't need you around me every minute of every day?! Why can't you get it through your thick skull that I don't have to marry you if I don't want to?!"  
  
There was a long, awkward stillness. TK was afraid to move. As odd as it sounded in his head, he was afraid of Kari.  
  
"Kari, I—"  
  
"No! I am mad as hell and for once I like it! I'm leaving!"  
  
"Kari, please! You need to calm down! What are you getting so excited about?"  
  
"There you go again! You act like I can't handle myself!"  
  
"I don't understand!"  
  
"I want you out of here, TK! And if you're not moving out by the time I get back, then I will be!"  
  
Kari stormed to the front door, grabbed her purse and put on her shoes angrily. She slammed the door as hard as she could behind her. She didn't want TK to see her cry…not this time.  
  
TK sat there in utter shock. It was like some terrible, terrible dream. But he wasn't waking up. It didn't get any more real than that.  
  
"Wow," someone said in the bathroom. "I'm really sorry we had to hear that."  
  
"Me too," Matt said on the other end of the phone."  
  
TK ran to the door and outside. Kari sat on the concrete walkway running along the rows of apartments. She was crying and holding the now broken heel of her right shoe.  
  
"Kari—"  
  
"No, TK!" Kari shouted as she stood up again and started to walk away, rather awkwardly because of the one broken heel.  
  
"Is it too late to say I'm sorry?!" TK called after her.  
  
Kari's walking slowed to a stop and she let out a long sigh. She turned her gaze back to TK.  
  
"Sometimes, it is too late."  
  
Kari kicked off her shoes and kept on walking away. That was how the sun finally set on their love. 


	23. A Deal With the Devil

About half an hour later, Kari found herself sitting on a bench in the park.  It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze, and the trees swayed ever so slightly with the gusts.  Her eyes were red, her makeup smeared, and her shoes were set beside her, one of them broken.  People walked past her, but she didn't notice.  She just sat there, sniffling, confused and needing to talk to someone more than anything.  She reached into her purse and pulled out her very small, pink cell phone and looked through her speed-dial menu.  Her and TK's apartment was on top, but that was just a mess waiting to happen.  She was just about to call up her brother, but she paused.  After that whole speech she'd given to TK about being overprotective, Tai was the last person that would understand.  Then she spotted the next listing and punched in the number.  The phone rang and she waited.  Someone picked up on the second ring.

"_Hello?" Yolei asked._

"Hi, it's Kari."  She sniffled slightly.  "Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"_Sure Kari, just give me—no, I said I wanted the roses, not the lilies!"_

"What?"

"_Oh!  Sorry, Kari.  I'm just busy with some of the wedding—what do you mean the eels have to be shipped in?!  I didn't order any eels!"_

"Wedding plans?"

"_Yeah, it's really crazy right now.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to plan a traditional wedding."_

"And what would a traditional wedding be without eels?"  Kari smiled slightly, but it quickly faded.

"_Ken!  Could you do something about my father?!  I don't need him haggling with the caterers!"_

"Maybe I'll just call back later…"

"_Mom!__  Could you go help Ken?  Dad's got Mr. Hiragami in a headlock!"_

Kari sighed and hung up.  Maybe Ken and Yolei weren't the best choice.  But who else could she call?  Maybe her parents, but that wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to at this point in her life.  Sora?  She was Matt's wife and Matt was TK's older brother, so that didn't fly with her.  Maybe Cody; he was a good listener after all, but he probably had classes to rush off to.  Izzy was in a whole different city, so the conversation couldn't get any more comforting than a phone would allow, not that it ever got that personal with Izzy even when he was in the same city.  There was only one person left.  She dialed the number and the phone started to ring.

"_Hello?" a voice asked tiredly on the other end._

"Hi, Davis."

"_Kari!  What's going on?"_

"I just need someone to talk to.  Is that okay?"

"_Well, I am kinda' at work.  And my boss IS watching me like a hawk ever since I ducked out yesterday."_

"Oh.  I understand…"

"_No!  Look, I suppose I could spare a few minutes.  So what's up?"_

"Did…did you ever feel like people don't really know you?"

"_Huh?"_

"Like even someone you really care about doesn't give you enough credit?"

"_…All the time._"

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

"_A lot._"

"Can I ask you something, Davis?"

"_Sure."_

"What do you think of me?"

"_Honestly?"_

"Of course."

"_I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.  I think you're the nicest, most caring, most special person in the whole world.  You're the best."_

"Oh Davis…"

"_I know, I know.  I'm trying to get over it.  But you've gotta give me at least a few more days.  __France__ wasn't built in a day."_

Kari giggled.  "You mean Rome."

"_Rome_, ___France_, whatever.__  The point is, some things take time._"_

"…And some thing can end in a heartbeat," she said in a near-whisper.

"_Huh?"_

"Could you meet me?"

"_I really don't think I should."_

"You're right.  It was silly of me to ask.  I'll see you later then?"

"_Now just hold on, Kari.  What's this all about?  Did something happen?"_

"Don't worry about it.  You just go back to work."

"_Are you sure you're ok?"_

"Yeah.  I'm fine.  Don't worry."

"_That's what I told YOU to do."_

Kari smiled.  "Yeah, you did."

"_Now go home and get some rest. Stop worrying about that Amadeus guy.   I'm sure that TK's going to walk right through that front door any minute and you two will hug and everything will be just fine again.  You'll see."_

Kari lost it.  She didn't want to, but she couldn't stop the sob of pain from rising up in her chest.

"_Kari?!__  Are you okay?!"_

"N-no…" she said in a sob.  "It's, it's all just—it's so wrong.  I…I…"

"_What's going on?!  What's the matter?!"_

"It's…it's over…" she said, choking back tears.  "It's all over!  Why…can't…"

Kari started to sob uncontrollably.  She closed her eyes and held her forehead in her left hand while letting her right hand fall with the cell phone in it.

"_Kari?  Are you there?"_

Kari just sat there for a few moments.  Then she quietly calmed down, wiped her tears away and brought the phone back to her ear.  "Davis?"

"_Kari!  What happened?"_

"TK, he…he came back.  He's fine."

"_So why are you all bent out of shape?"_

"I…I…I broke up with him."  She closed her eyes and waited to hear Davis' shock.  The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.

"_…Oh._"

"What?"

"_So why did you do it?"_

This was certainly not what she'd been expecting.  It threw her off.  "I…I guess it was the things he said and…and he was…"

"_Just calm down," Davis said very coolly.  "_Take a deep breath and go ahead._"_

Kari took a long breath and wiped her eyes again.  She proceeded slowly and calmly, but not without a broken-hearted voice.  "Okay.  I wanted to talk with him about what happened yesterday, right?  He looked ready to blow as soon as I started.  I mean he really looked ready to go out and kill that guy.  It was scary.  Anyway, he said some things and I could just tell that he was about to try to propose to me again.  Does he really not get it?  TK's not that dense, I know he's not."

"_So you broke up with him because he was determined?  No wonder you never wanted to go out with me."_

"No, no.  It wasn't that.  If that was all I would've been fine."  She let out a long sigh.  "The thing is, he was acting like my brother."

"_Your brother?_"

"Yeah.  He was acting really overprotective, just like Tai does.  But I expect that kind of thing from him, you know?  Maybe that's why TK and I became such good friends…because he reminded me of Tai.  He protects me in the same way…but that's no reason to marry a guy."

"_Uh-huh."_

"Anyway, he was treating me like I couldn't do anything for myself.  I think he sees me as something he needs to look out for, not someone to love.  I think that's the real reason I couldn't agree to marry him.  I've always been treated like I couldn't take care of myself.  I've never really had a chance to be my own woman, you know?"

"_Of course._"

"I can't be with a guy that treats me like that.  That's what I realized…and that's why I broke up with TK.  Do you think I'm a terrible person?  Should I have given him another chance?  Should I go back and apologize before it's too late?"

"_Kari, I…"  Davis paused for a long time.  "_I think you should do whatever you want.  But maybe it doesn't matter what I think.  I mean, I have been wrong before.  A whole lot of times.  More than I can count, even.  But I've always done what I thought was right, and I'd rather do what I think is right and be wrong than do what I think is wrong and be right._"_

"Like how you came down to the police station yesterday without even telling your boss?" Kari asked with a smile.

"_Exactly!__  If I had to make that choice again I'd do the exact same thing!"_

"You're right, Davis."

"_I am?"_

"You are!  You really make sense."  Kari was now smiling.

"_I do?"_

"I can't be so concerned all the time with what everyone else thinks.  I need to respect myself a little more, or else I always will be depending on guys like TK and my brother."

"_Good for you.  So, do you still need someone to talk to?  Or are you good?"_

"You know, I think I'm okay now.  I'm not great, but I'm not about to lose it."

"_Well, if you do need me, you've got my number."_

"Well…I could use some place to stay tonight."

"_You mean…you wanna stay in my apartment?"_

"What am I saying?  I'll just stay with my parents."

"_…You don't have to, you know."_

"So it'd be okay for me to stay there?"

"_Sure!  That's great!"_

"Just for tonight, of course."

"_Yeah._"

"Sleeping arrangements?"

"_Um…same bed and…clothing optional?"_

Kari laughed; normally she wouldn't have, but for some reason she was in strangely high spirits.

"_Hey, I had to give it a shot."_

"Why don't I just take the couch?"

"_Well, since one of us has got to use the couch, I'll take it.  You could use a good night's sleep."_

"Thanks, Davis.  I'll come by after you get off work tonight."

"_Sure!  That's fine by me.  We can get a pizza or something."_

"I'd like that.  See you later?"

"_Great!  See ya tonight!"_

"Yeah, see ya."

Kari hung up the phone and looked down at it for a few minutes.  She actually felt a little better, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Late that evening the sun peaked out under the cloudy sky of the western quadrant as it made its final descent.  Sheer mountains were all that could be seen in every direction, all of them asleep beneath vast sheets of snow and colored by the orange evening sunlight.  The clouds overhead were a swirling, chaotic mass of gray and would surely issue forth a storm very soon, not that it mattered in such a remote and lifeless place.  It was here that the tallest mountain in the entire western quadrant stood with an enormous entrance carved into its face.  This was the site of the Tiger Gate, the ancient stronghold of the strongest and youngest of the Sovereigns: Baihumon.  It was a place that Ryo and Cyberdramon were familiar with.

The pair descended into the cave entrance.  Cyberdramon hit the ground and quickly slowed down to a stop and kneeled.  Ryo climbed down from his partner's back.  Ryo's already tattered cloak had been torn even more so as he could fashion bandages for his neck and whatever other wounds he'd managed to sustain in the fight.  Cyberdramon had refused such treatment.

After dusting himself off, Ryo began to walk forward into the chasm with Cyberdramon at his heels.  They proceeded through the rough, rocky exterior cave into a deeper part of the mountain.  The darkness was intense, but considering there was only a single, very large path it was difficult to lose one's way.  After a time the pair passed through one last entrance and into the great inner chamber of the gate.  In the center was a great pit leading down into a simmering cavern of magma.  At the far end of the cave stood another gate and a pedestal sat before it where Baihumon had once passed his time.  In the ceiling, leading up from the pit, was a great shaft that extended all the way to the top of the mountain, an exhaust pipe of sorts.  Most striking of all, however, was that the walls, floor and everything in between were alive with clockwork, mechanized wonders.  Copper tubes ran up all the walls and across the floor, directing steam, water, smoke and magma in every direction imaginable.  Gauges flipped back and forth in a kind of strange symphony.  Enormous, ancient iron and bronze gears clicked away while smaller, more delicate ones whirred only inches from their giant cousins.  Dozens upon dozens of levers and switches, pulleys, axles and any combination thereof decorated the interior of this impressive cavern.  And everything was moving all at once, very rhythmically and predictably, one thing leading to another, leading to another, and then leading back to the first.  It was an orchestra in perpetual motion, a system in which cause and effect are one in the same.

After taking all of this in, Ryo focused his attention.  He now saw three figures standing at the precipice with there backs turned to him.  They were all clad in robes with their hoods up.

"Hello?" he called out.

All three turned to him.  Though it was difficult to see because of the red light from the pit and the shadows cast over everything else, he could recognize his mother by the red trim on her beige robe.

"I'm here, mom."

"I was worried you wouldn't come," Elena said as she slid her hood back off her head.  She looked exhausted.

"So this is the one," said the man to Elena's right.

"And you are…?" asked Ryo.

"Malkis.  You were supposed to meet with me, but I guess it just slipped your mind."  He did not remove his hood.

"Apparently."

"And this is Tiresias," Elena said, motioning to the third member of the party.  His face, what Ryo could see of it, looked middle-aged and the fringe of his robe was orange.

"Don't bother introducing yourself," said Tiresias.  "I already know all about you."

"So why the party?" asked Ryo.

"Ryo, we've run into some big problems," Elena began.  "The Destroyer has finally revealed himself.  We know where his is and the time has come to confront him."

"So why is this a problem?"

"He chose to reveal himself," said Malkis.  "It doesn't take a genius to realize that that means he's ready for a fight."

"And that's why you want me to leave," Ryo concluded.  "You think it's too dangerous for me."

"That's what Elena believes," said Malkis.  "The rest of us have larger concerns."

"Humans were banished from this world for a reason," said Tiresias.

"And what reason was that?" Ryo asked agitatedly.

"There are more pressing issues at hand," said Elena.  "Listen, Ryo.  The Destroyer is more than you can handle.  He could be more than all of us together can handle.  Your being here would be suicide.  This is something this world has to deal with on its own."

"In case you'd forgotten, I'm part of this world too."

"Dammit Ryo, this is no time to be stubborn," said Elena.

"Look, there's more going on here than even you realize!  That city Cyberdramon and I were at when you called was taken over by machine digimon and a couple of seriously nasty demon digimon saying they were part of some 'Demon Corps' or something.  All those machine digimon were loading up weapons and equipment for a war."

"A war?" asked Elena.

"As I expected," said Malkis.  "The Destroyer was planning for a war this whole time.  This has probably been in the works for a decade at the least."

"And just when were you planning on sharing these suspicions, Malkis?" asked Elena.

"I say you could use every last man you can get," said Ryo.

"Listen to your mom, kid," said Malkis.  "It's best for you to leave."

"Say what you will to the boy," said Tiresias.  "It will not work."

"Tiresias, don't…" Elena pleaded.

"Go ahead," said Malkis.  "Maybe it'll knock some sense into him."

"What I say will change nothing," said Tiresias.  "Elena, you should know by now that whatever I say must be said, and what I do not say must be kept secret."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ryo.

"I came to your mother shortly before your arrival," said Tiresias.  "I told her you would be coming, and I told her what the result would be."

"The result?"

"A choice."

"What choice?"

"Your choice.  In spite of what I told her, she allowed you to stay rather than sending you back home.  That was her choice.  Now the time has come for you to make your own choice."

"And what choice is that?"

"To live, or to die."

"What?"

"Maybe I should explain," said Elena.  "You see, we Guardians have certain abilities that tie us to this world differently from humans or even digimon.  These abilities manifest themselves differently in each of us.  In short, Tiresias can see the future."

"Not the whole future, mind you," said Tiresias.  "Only what I must see.  Now then, it is your choice, Ryo.  If you stay here, you and Cyberdramon will both die."

"And if I leave?"

"Then you will not."

"Are you sure about this, mom?" asked Ryo.

"Tiresias' predictions have never failed," said Elena, "at least when he's chosen to share them.  You could say he's notorious for saying what must be said instead of what should be said."

"What should be said is a matter of opinion," said Tiresias.

"So if you know the future, do you know what I'm going to choose?"

"I know what I need to know."

"Does that include my decision?"

"It does."

"Then why did you even bother to come here if you knew what I would choose?"

"I was meant to, just as you were meant to come."

"But if you know the future, can't you change it?"

"Knowing is different from influencing.  As I said, I know what I need to know, and I know that I cannot effect what is beyond my control."

"So then how can I make a decision if you already know what I'm going to do?"

"You've already made your decision.  You made it before you were even asked to come here.  I cannot know when exactly you made the choice, because I see the future, not the past."

"Since you know what my decision is, why don't you share it?"

"If I didn't know you'd say that, I'd be surprised you hadn't figured out that I wasn't meant to.  You are the one who must make your choice known."

"Then I guess I'll make it clear."  Ryo turned away and started walking toward Cyberdramon.  "Cyberdramon!  Get ready.  We've got a demon to beat."

"Gladly," said Cyberdramon.

The pair walked back into the darkness and toward the exit.  Elena wore a defeated expression.

"I knew that boy would be nothing but trouble," said Malkis.

"Take care, Malkis," Tiresias advised.  "Do not upset Elena."

"Why tell me?  If I'm going to, then I will no matter what you say, right?"

"Because I had to tell you."

"Now I remember why I never liked working with you.  You think you know everything."

"No, Malkis.  I only know what I must."

"Then why not share a few more things with us?"

"Because what I must know is not the same as what you must know.  There is a reason why I am able to see the future and you are not, just as you can do things which I um unable to do.  To each his own."

"Would you two shut up?!" Elena shouted.  "My son is about to march off to his death!"

"That he is," said Tiresias.

Day 32 

It was still early in the morning in the southern quadrant, so early that the light of day had yet to spread across the wastelands.  Beelzemon landed on a platform just outside the front door to the only structure within a hundred miles.  It was a massive stronghold, carved ages ago from a natural rock formation.  The towers, walls, doors, and in fact every aspect of its architecture was based upon strange, natural curves.  Everything seemed to flow together without any sharp angles.  Beelzemon disliked the organic feel of this place as he pulled his wings back into his body.

The front gate was a pair of large, double doors that formed an oval some fifty feet tall.  On either side stood a Devidramon.  The two beasts were clearly unsettled by Beelzemon's arrival and began to gnash their teeth and shift about nervously.  They did not advance though, and Beelzemon walked forward.  As he neared the doors they slowly swung open on their own, making long, loud creaks as the slid on their hinges.  As soon as he stepped inside he was hit by the musky smell of a tomb, and the odor of blood, both dry and wet.  There was also a distinct background smell of sulfur.

He strode into the first room, which was lit by torches all along the wide, circular perimeter.  A narrow stone walkway was the most direct path to the exit on the far side of the room.  As he walked, he gazed into the pit below the bridge and saw it was covered by a rope mesh.  Though the chasm below was pitch black, Beelzemon knew from the sounds of breathing and slight motions that there was something down there and it was big.  He stopped for a moment to take a closer look when a pair of large, glowing, pale orange eyes appeared below, glaring up at him.  He then heard the creature give a long, low growl before he kept on walking.  Beelzemon had a grin on his face.

Beelzemon continued to walk through room after room and up long stairwells.  Eventually, though, he came to a pair of large doors that opened for him.  He stepped through and into a room that smelled of burnt flesh.  It was another round room like the first, but it was larger and had a high, domed roof.  Great pillars of stone stretched from floor to ceiling.  Just inside was a stone ramp leading down ten feet or so to the main floor, into which was carved words and pictures in concentric circles focused on the very center of the room.  Circular pits, each only a few feet across, were arranged around the room, and each was a cauldron of smoldering magma.  Beelzemon could see bodies covered in blood nailed to the wall, hooked to the ceiling, and resting in piles on the floor.  Why they hadn't disintegrated after death was one of the many questions he would need an answer for by the time this was all over.  But for now his attention was focused on the raised, circular section of floor in the room's center.  There hovered a burning figure, wrapped in both a crimson fire and impossible darkness at the same time.  There were things moving in the room, making strange rattling noises and cutting through the air.  They were like long, black whips, occasionally glinting in the light of the magma.  Beelzemon had no doubt they came from the figure.

"Lemme guess," said Beelzemon, "you the butler or somethin'?"

The door slammed shut behind him and the figure remained motionless.

"Hey!  I'm talkin' to you!"

Suddenly, the tendrils around the room whipped themselves into a frenzy.

"What the—"

Before Beelzemon could finish, one of the black whips shit down and wrapped itself around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides.  Beelzemon struggled for a moment, but then the razor-edged whip just squeezed tighter and spun a few degrees.  The pain was unimaginable as it tore through his leather outfit and into his flesh.  Before he could even get a scream out, he was lifted and yanked through the air.  The tendril pulled him to within ten feet of the burning figure and dropped him to the ground face first.  Beelzemon was about to roll back over and shoot the thing into oblivion, but it darted forward and pierced through his right shoulder and into the ground.  He instantly cried out in pain and spat out a mouthful of bile and phlegm.  The tendril continued to twist itself around, shredding away more and more of Beelzemon's bone and muscle.  Then, with the same speed and brutality with which it entered, the black tendril pulled itself violently from Beelzemon's shoulder and returned to its proper place.  Beelzemon lay on the ground, his eyes shut tight and his left hand holding on tight to the massive wound.

"Puny weakling…" the figure growled in that dry, venomous voice of his.

Beelzemon was too overcome with pain to even respond, but he could open his eyes and glare up at the beast.

"Consider that to be your first lesson in not displeasing me."

"Who are you?!"  Beelzemon demanded in a savage growl, still blinded by pain.

"As you can see, I could kill you right now if I chose to.  I suppose you're regretting lowering your guard right now, or perhaps wishing you'd stayed in your stronger form."

The wound continued to pour out blood at an alarming rate as Beelzemon slowly reached for his red bandana to use as a bandage.

"Understand this, Beelzemon.  This shall be the last time you can expect me to save you from your own foolishness."

One of the black forms sprung into action again, this time piercing through on of the dead digimon that lay on the floor and hoisted it over to where Beelzemon lay.

"Absorb this creature's data," said the Destroyer.  "It will restore you."

Beelzemon opened his eyes and looked at the figure, and then to the body that lay at his side.

"Not…gonna happen…"

"Stubborn even to the end."

"I ain't…at my end yet," Beelzemon choked out.  "Believe me… I've had worse than this scratch."

"That is precisely why you are here.  Now consume its data."

"Go…to…hell…"

"Clever."

By then Beelzemon had retrieved his bandana and wrapped it around the wound.  Holding on end in his teeth and the other in his left hand, Beelzemon gave the knot one strong tug.  "Urgh!" he shouted in staggering pain.

"Your pride will be the death of you, Beelzemon."

"And I will be the death of you!" Beelzemon said furiously as he struggled back to his feet.

"Wit is such a rare thing to find in demons these days.  Now I believe we have some business to discuss…" said the Destroyer.

Then he heard a click behind his head.  Beelzemon had pulled out one of his guns and pressed it up against the back of the Destroyer's skull.

"The only business here is between you and my shotgun," said Beelzemon.

"Put down your toy," said the Destroyer.  "You couldn't kill me if I wanted you to."

"Let's see about that," said Beelzemon as he slowly began to squeeze the trigger.

"Lower your weapon," the Destroyer ordered in a rough, commanding voice.

Beelzemon didn't know why he did what he did next.  Indeed, he could have gone most of his life without ever knowing and been happier for it.  He released the trigger and holstered his weapon.

"Better," said the Destroyer.  "Now it is time to discuss our covenant."

"Covenant?"

"Yes, a very simple agreement I make with all of my favored servants.  As a member of my Demon Corps, you will be granted your greatest desire in exchange for eternal service to me."

"My greatest desire?"

"I made the same agreement with Mephismon, whom you've already had the chance to meet.  He wanted true power, a meager ambition for a meager mind.  Nevertheless, he shall have it as soon as I feel the time is right.  Besides, with such strength he will make an even better tool of war."

"Sorry, punk.  You ain't got nothin' I want."

Beelzemon was about to turn and go but then someone spoke up, and it was not the Destroyer.

"Beelzemon!  What are you doing?!" shouted Makuramon.  "Don't let this demon survive!  Kill him now!"

"Isn't it about time someone who deserves to die meets their fate at your hands?" asked Leomon.

"Crush him now while his back is turned," Chatsuramon advised.  "I'll not have this beast free to corrupt the Sovereign's lands!"

"Problem?" asked the Destroyer.

"I got nothin' more to say to youse guys!  NOTHIN'!"

"Transform and rid the world of the beast," said Chatsuramon.

"For once we agree!" added Leomon.  "This creature has the smell of great danger, and must be stopped.  I for one would give my life all over again to do it."

"Tear him limb from limb!" shouted Makuramon.

"Shut up!" Beelzemon shouted.

"I can silence them," said the Destroyer.

"…What?" asked Beelzemon.

"I can relieve pain as easily as I give it.  I could even release the anguish in your mind.  That is your greatest desire, is it not?  I can make it so that there is only one voice."

"So what's the catch?"

"As I said before, service.  You shall join my glorious Demon Corps and stand at the top of my army in the coming war."

"I want these voices gone right now."

"It is as easily said as done."

"So how do you know I'll do my part of the bargain?"

"For the same reason I know Mephismon will serve me long after I have given him his true power.  You two share a common purpose: to serve me."

"And I want a gun."

"Yes, I know of your lacking a proper weapon.  It shall be yours."

"Then let's do this."

For the first time, the Destroyer turned to face Beelzemon.

"Then welcome home, Beelzemon."


	24. The Battle of Kalu

[Hello again, everybody.  I'm really quite sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter out, but between gigundo essays to write, finals week, Christmas shopping, and a surprising amount of generally feeling lazy, it took me a while to get it done.  It's here now and I think my skills somehow were hurt during my little hiatus.  It's not as good of a chapter as I would have wanted it to be, but I did want to get it out as soon as it was ready.  So here you go and I hope you enjoy it.]

Day 34 

SaberSetomon rose from a rare dreamless sleep.  He was momentarily confused by his surroundings, but quickly adjusted.  He had reached a grassy area south of the Great Driver Wasteland and had leaned back against one of the few local trees for a nap.  He was relieved to have gone without dreams this last time, for he rarely dared to sleep as of late.  The fiend that had been plaguing his dreams since he first arrived on Server had disappeared, but in his place came terrible urges to slaughter everything he saw.  The compulsion was worst in his dreams, and he often feared waking up to find himself with blood on his hands.  SaberSetomon's resilience and his sanity were beginning to run thin.

But he could deal with all those other dreams.  The most troubling thing for him though was that one dream in which he became a human, and in which he lost who he was and was left only with that small, frail body, forced to confront Amadeus at every turn.  Those dreams had not reappeared since the one in which that young woman and he were attacked.  He would be perfectly happy if they never returned.  The most disturbing aspect of the whole experience, and of all his dreams in fact, was that he could never tell just how real they were.  His other form as a human felt so real, but so did all his dreams; at times it was just easier to believe it was all a product of his imagination, but when he thought about it he could not conceptualize where the dreams came from.  He'd never even heard of such an animal as a "human" until he asked about them while in Babamon's care.  But now they were all he could think about.

Things had become very lonely.  As far as his keen eyes could see there was nothing but endless, rolling hills of grass with one exception.  In the south he could see a great mountain rising up from the landscape, obscured by haze; he walked always toward it.  Strong winds combed the grassy fields under the cloudless sky.  The Earth was now clearly visible, surrounded by shimmering data grids and shooting data streams down onto the ground.  It was the single heavenly body, a constant source of wonder to SaberSetomon.  Somehow, he knew that was where the humans dwelled, the place he saw in his dreams.

His dreams weren't limited to those in his sleep, however.  He would often create vivid fantasies of his own, usually much more pleasant than those which he was pushed toward at night.  He would think often on File Island and the friends he'd made in the village.  He thought of Elecmon and Angemon, of the Guardians and Omnimon, and of Bukamon, Nyaromon and the rest.  Guilmon was there too, of course.  He never did get along for the others very well, but he'd always been SaberSetomon's friend.  SaberSetomon longed to be his old self again, so happy and carefree.  In this form and with such troubles, he'd seemed to have aged well beyond his years, or rather weeks.  He thought of his counterpart as well.  He wondered if she'd recognize him when next they met, now that he'd digivolved once again.  For once he felt like he'd be one step ahead of her instead of the other way around.  He never did question that he'd see her again.  They seemed inexorably drawn to one another.

All of these thoughts cycled through his mind again and again as he sauntered across the plains in that gorilla-like walk of his.  While the increased strength was a plus, SaberSetomon found this new form of his too slow for distance traveling.  He walked all morning and into the afternoon, covering the miles at a slow and steady pace.  He was thankful that he hadn't run into any other digimon all day long; he wasn't sure if he could keep his bloodlust suppressed.  

Hour after hour crept past at a snail's pace while the mountain in the south slowly grew clearer, the terrain became rougher and rockier.  SaberSetomon kept an ever-watchful eye on the data streams, which seemed a good distance away, but which could sneak up very quickly.  Well into the afternoon, the wind remained constant, but then there came a sudden shift and SaberSetomon's keen sense of smell picked up a very faint scent from directly ahead of him, at least a few miles away.  He rushed up to the top of the hill he'd been struggling with for the past half hour and took in the sight and smells from the area ahead.  What he had smelled was smoke, and that was exactly what he now saw.  Great plumes of it rose up from what appeared to be a small town a few miles down the way.  SaberSetomon was about to take off running but then he hesitated.  He must have stood there, seemingly paralyzed, for over ten seconds.  His expression was stoic, his chest barely moving with each shallow breath, and his eyes fixed dead ahead.  Then, without any further reluctance, he proceeded.

For nearly an hour he lumbered across the rocky terrain, up and down hill after hill, running as best as he could given his awkward body.  Images of the last town he'd been in flashed through his mind; he could recall every moment of its apocalyptic demise, envision the digimon he'd seen in town that day and imagine how horrible their last moments must have been.  He also remembered the last time he'd met up with Mephismon in that coastal city.  The goat demon had probably demolished the entire town before moving on.  He couldn't afford to tally up another city and its every living inhabitant as obliterated.

He was greatly moved by pity for those under attack, but at the same time he took immense pleasure in thinking about how he would deal with the attackers.  As his journey wore on, he realized it was not only the attackers he wanted to see in agony, but every digimon there.  He was drawn by more than pity.  Bloodshed itself summoned him like a moth to the flame.  He even licked his chops at the very thought of it.  This notion sickened him to the very core and he wanted to stop, to turn back, but every fiber of his being, whether for good or for ill, urged him to forward.  He continued, but had no idea what he would do once he arrived.  Would he be the village's savior, or its destroyer?

As he finally drew near to the village he could make out individual digimon, fighting one another tooth-and-nail.  Some were taking cover, others launched their attacks from a distance, and still others were entirely enmeshed with their attackers, clawing and biting for their survival.  Most of the villagers though chose to run for their lives.  Digimon fled the city in droves, pursued by the attacking digimon.  One Gotsumon ran right past SaberSetomon, trying desperately to escape the carnage.  A Flymon came buzzing up behind him, gaining on the small digimon with frightening speed.  That's when SaberSetomon stepped in…literally.  He stepped right in front of the Flymon's path and braced himself for combat.  The Flymon hesitated for a moment and then sped up to charge SaberSetomon.  As it drew to within a few feet of him it lowered its thorax and aimed its stinger toward SaberSetomon, who stood quite motionless.  Then the Flymon struck, as did SaberSetomon.  With lightning-quick reflexes he lunged with his massive right hand, grabbed the Flymon's face in his palm, and shoved it back down into the rocky ground with enough force to knock it unconscious.  He pulled back and was about to land a deathblow on the incapacitated creature, but paused and thought better of it.  Despite as strong urge toward the contrary, he continued toward the village without killing the Flymon.

The village itself was in utter pandemonium.  With all the fighting that was going on all over the place, it was nearly impossible to tell friend from foe.  All he knew was to hit whoever attacked him; this strategy left over a dozen victims in his wake before he reached what appeared to be a makeshift safe-house.  It was a small building off the main road through town and a number of digimon were guarding it from the attackers.  SaberSetomon knew it would be the only place to start looking for allies in this war zone.  As soon as one of the guards—a Centaurumon—saw him though, he turned his weapon on him and started firing.

"Solar Ray!" the Centaurumon shouted.

SaberSetomon ducked out of the way and out of the guard's sight.  He didn't doubt that he could beat the horse-man if he tried, but that wasn't exactly the best way to win friends; that much he was certain of.  That's when SaberSetomon saw his golden opportunity.  A Musyamon and a Mojyamon pounced on the Centaurumon, knocking him down.  Virtually unable to retaliate at such close range, Centaurumon was completely at their mercy as the Musyamon raised his Shogun Sword to deliver a quick and deadly blow.  SaberSetomon wasn't about to let that happen.

"Inferno Fist!"

He sprung forth, his fists ablaze and his eyes made to match.  He covered the distance to the fallen Centaurumon in no time and struck Musyamon right on the jaw.  The samurai was knocked clean off Centaurumon and sent flying into one of the nearby wooden buildings.  In his rage, SaberSetomon backhanded Mojyamon with a force so great that he could hear the breaking of bones under his hand.  Mojyamon was sent flying over twenty yards before he crashed into a building, cracking his skull open in the process.  SaberSetomon could smell Mojyamon's data being dispersed, but by then Musyamon was back on his feet and charging.

"Shogun Sword!"

He had his blade drawn high over his head and clearly intended to finish SaberSetomon off with a single, mighty blow.  SaberSetomon wasn't about to let Musyamon even get a shot in.

"Inferno Fist!"

SaberSetomon punched the air and a wall of flame shot from his fist directly toward Musyamon.  Musyamon's horrified expression was visible for only a moment before the column of fire smashed into him, halting his advance and engulfing him and everything around him.  The wooden buildings on either side of the narrow street didn't even have time to catch flame before everything in striking distance of the attack was obliterated.  The figure of Musyamon became black and charred before being completely incinerated.

SaberSetomon was breathing very heavily as he stared down the now torched street.  There were small fires on the ground and on some of the buildings; ashes were strewn about; the force of his attack had sent anything not nailed down sailing out of town as a barrage of fiery missiles.  He tried to calm himself.

"Hold it right there," said Centaurumon, who now had his weapon aimed at the back of SaberSetomon's skull.

The giant red digimon didn't say a word or move an inch.  Instead he just stood there, waiting for Centaurumon to make his move.

"I take it you're not with these beasts," Centaurumon began, "but I know you're not from around here.  What do you want with us?"

"I just don't want to see another town destroyed."

"Cute.  I'm going to need a little more than that though."

"I'm just a traveler.  I saw the smoke and wanted to help."

"A likely story.  I think you're just trying to gain our trust so you can turn on us when we're most vulnerable."

"I'm not lying."

"I can't afford to take that risk.  Not right now."

"Hold it," said another guard who had just appeared.

"Back off.  I only trust this guy a little less than I trust you."

SaberSetomon was still looking away from the pair.  He was curious who this newcomer was, but he wasn't going to risk making Centaurumon fire.  If that happened, SaberSetomon knew there would be no stopping himself.

"Look, he's strong and from what I saw he just saved your life," said the new guard.  "We have to take chances if we are to have any hope of surviving."

Centaurumon hesitated and then lowered his weapon.

"You're lucky, runt.  Now if you don't have a problem, I've got some business to get back to."

SaberSetomon turned around to see Centaurumon walking away and his savior looking right at him.  He was a Gargomon.

"Um…thanks."

"If you want to thank me, you'll watch my back.  This battle ain't over yet."

"Who's the enemy?"

"Anyone who attacks you."

"When did this all start?"

"About three hours ago.  They just came out of nowhere and started attacking the town.  There'll be time for talk later.  Let's bring the fight to them!  Follow me!"

Gargomon turned and ran toward the main road.  SaberSetomon smiled and followed behind.  When they arrived on the road, SaberSetomon saw the same carnage he'd viewed only a short time ago.

"Down!" Gargomon shouted.

SaberSetomon didn't understand; instead he just looked around for a moment, seeing a Pteramon swooping down on him at the absolute last moment.  The armored dinosaur grabbed his head and shoulders in its powerful talons and ascended back into the sky with an extra boost from its jet engines.  SaberSetomon was too shocked to do anything but strike sloppily at Pteramon's legs with a balled fist.  Gargomon sprang into action and turned both his arm guns on the mechanical monster.

"Gargo Pellet!"

Gargomon began to fire his guns at full speed.  The deadly shells exploded all around the remarkably quick Pteramon, sometimes missing SaberSetomon by only inches.  Pteramon finally grew angry and turned back to attack.  SaberSetomon, who had been struggling with increasing success against his captor's tight grip, tried to sink his fearsome fangs into the monster's toes, but found them as hard as the steel that covered the rest of its body.  Gargomon kept on firing as Pteramon began to dive at him and locked on with its missiles.  Shells bounced off the metal mon's wings like raindrops; the force of their detonations did little to dissuade it.  Gargomon then had an idea just as Pteramon launched the first pair of missiles.  Gargomon started to take aim but was forced to dive out of the way.  A second later the rockets hit the spot where he'd been standing and exploded.  Gargomon slowly pushed himself back to his feet to get ready for the next pass.

By then SaberSetomon's attacks were growing more focused.  He punched Pteramon's steel underbelly fiercely, leaving huge dents in its body.  Then, just as it reached the height of its turn, it couldn't take it any longer and dropped him.  SaberSetomon fell over a hundred and fifty feet directly onto a wooden house, which disintegrated underneath him.  The Pteramon then came back at Gargomon, ready to finish him off.  Gargomon had his own plans though and now took careful aim for the missile pack under the Pteramon's left wing.  Gargomon let loose a few three-round bursts.  The first four bursts missed, but the fifth one hit dead-on and caused the missiles to explode while still attached to Pteramon, taking off its wing and sending it careening into a row of buildings.

SaberSetomon clawed his way free of the rubble that had engulfed him and coughed from the dust that hung in the air.  As his vision cleared he knew that he'd lost sight of Gargomon, but he had larger concerns at the moment.  Much larger.  A Mammothmon stood over the ruins of a row of houses on just the other side of the small street, and he'd just seen SaberSetomon.  The great beast pawed the ground and snorted.  It lowered its head and centered its tusks right on SaberSetomon.  SaberSetomon was of course frightened, but he was also excited.  His claws twitched at the thought of taking down this huge beast.  He squinted slightly and dug his toes into the dry soil.  That was when Mammothmon charged.

SaberSetomon braced himself for the mighty beast's assault, but he didn't know if he could handle it.  Sure enough, he couldn't.  Mammothmon rammed through him like a train through a butterfly.  SaberSetomon was trampled and tossed.  As he lay on the ground in the next few seconds he began to assess his injuries.  He suffered from bruises, cuts and scrapes, one nasty laceration to his forehead, and what seemed to him to be a dislocated left shoulder.  After that he just wanted to lay there in the debris until the whole battle was over, but Mammothmon didn't look like he was going to allow that.  So SaberSetomon rose again.  He began to hobble away while holding his left shoulder with his right hand, but Mammothmon charged and tossed him once more.

SaberSetomon found himself even more beat up than the last time.  He lay facedown in the dirt as rubble rained down upon him.  As he looked up through his right eye he could see Mammothmon coming around for another pass.  He didn't know if he would survive another trampling.  He felt completely weak, just as he'd been on too many occasions before.  He couldn't help himself.  He couldn't stop what was about to happen.  He couldn't do anything.  It was all over.

"No…" he said under his raspy breath.  "Not this time."

SaberSetomon sucked in a short breath through his teeth and then let out a long, loud scream just before he slammed his left shoulder into the ground.  The pain was immense and the bone remained dislodged.  Mammothmon pawed the ground for another charge.

"Not this time!" he shouted again.

Another long cry escaped SaberSetomon's lips as he slammed his shoulder into the ground once again.  The pain was more intense than before, but accompanying it this time was a satisfying snap that told him his arm was back in place.  Quickly but carefully he forced himself back to his feet and gripped his hands together in one giant fist.  He stared coldly at Mammothmon's eyeless mask as the great beast charged.  He waited and waited for what seemed to be an eternity.  He didn't move.  He didn't even breathe.  For once all was quiet in his head.  Everything was certain; everything was clear.  He had to kill or be killed and he knew who his enemy was.  Beyond that, nothing mattered.  It didn't matter who he was or who his enemy was or what either of their motivations were.  For once it all made sense.  SaberSetomon struck as soon as Mammothmon was within a few feet.

"NOT THIS TIME!"

He leapt into the air with his hands pulled back behind his head.  Mammothmon reared back and SaberSetomon struck, landing his huge, heavy fists right on the behemoth's mask.  The armor cracked under the blow and so did the monster's skull.  It folded like a cheap metal chair and SaberSetomon landed by his side.  As soon as his left hand touched the ground he felt a wave of pain shoot up the length of his arm.  He layed it gently on his leg before wiping the blood from his eyes that had dripped from the laceration on his forehead.

His entire body was sore.  He didn't know if he could go on, but he knew that he had to.  He believed he could have fled if he chose to.  He could have run back into the hills or found somewhere to hide under the ruins of the village.  Even the bloodlust in the back of his mind told him that there would be other chances to kill.  And yet still he would fight on for the sole reason that, somehow, he believed it was the right thing to do.  He knew it seemed to be his choice to make, but by the time he came to it, it had already been made.

Then SaberSetomon heard a buzzing sound overhead.  He sucked in a breath and looked up to see his next opponent.  What he saw was no less than three dozen Flybeemon hovering overhead, their wings beating viciously.  Their cold eyes were all trained on him.  Their red carapaces glistened in the sunlight.  SaberSetomon shifted his weight just slightly, but again he felt pain shoot up his arm.  He wasn't even at half strength anymore, and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle so many digimon at once.  The Flybeemon picked up on his weakness, and quickly took advantage of it.

Three of them dove at once from separate directions.  SaberSetomon punched the first one back and quickly swung his hand around to meet the second one, but the third Flybeemon managed to get him square in the back with its Lightning Sting attack before quickly flying off again.  SaberSetomon cried out and fell to one knee.  He blinked sweat and blood from his eyes.  His lip twitched, his joints rattled, and his chest heaved in and out.  The Flybeemon came at him again, but this time they all came together.

SaberSetomon fought with all his might, punching his way through one after another, cracking their heavy armor under his massive fist.  But with his left arm all but crippled, he could only do so much.  He fought them with his tail, his toes, and his teeth.  He whipped himself into a fury, sucking it up against the pain.  But for every single hit he made the Flybeemon got in two or three on him.  At first he was able to bear the pain, but as more and more of their stings shocked him he started to lose it.  His fighting slowed, his reflexes failed, and soon there was nothing he could do but scream in agony.  He thought he was dead for certain.  But it seemed that providence once again chose to look favorably upon him.

"Howling Destroyer!"

"Solar Ray!"

Out of the corner of his eye, SaberSetomon saw Centaurumon and a new digimon clad in a hat and poncho attack.  The new digimon threw back his garb and revealed two rows of small cannons on his torso.  Centaurumon's right hand transformed into a strange gun.  Both began to fire wildly into the swarm of Flybeemon and began to cut rapidly through their numbers.  Centaurumon's Solar Ray pounded into the Flybeemon one at a time with the strength of flying sacks of bricks.  The other digimon's continual volley wreaked absolute havoc on the terrified bugs, seeming to strike every one of them at once.  A few of them were killed and a little over a dozen were knocked out of the fight while the rest fled to the sky and as far from the two digimon as possible.

"Are you alright?!" the mystery digimon asked as he ran up to check on SaberSetomon.

SaberSetomon could barely move.  The stings had taken their toll on his body and he was no longer in any shape to fight.  He didn't even feel he could speak.  He just lay there, trying to breathe, to survive.

"Consider my debt repaid," said Centaurumon.

"My name's Wendigomon," said the second digimon.  "Where is Gargomon?  Where's my brother?"

All SaberSetomon could do was tremble with pain.  He tried to speak, but it came out as a choking sound.  He was quickly regaining the feeling in his limbs though, and he knew he'd be able to move them again in a couple minutes.  That feeling was still there.  He still wanted to fight and survive.  It was finally clear to him that surviving was all he'd been doing for a long time, and it had gotten to be something he was very good at.  He'd be ready to do it again soon enough.  He just needed a little time to rest.

"They'll be back," said Centaurumon, looking nervously around.  "And they'll have greater numbers."

"We can't move him like this," said Wendigomon, "and I've got to find my brother."

A large shadow appeared all around them.  "Leave him to me!"

SaberSetomon looked up.  Peering through the bright glare of day, he saw a Birdramon drop from the sky right next to their small group.  Her feathers were every bit as fiery as his fur, her vicious talons dug into the rocky ground as easily as oars pass through water, and her great wings stirred up a hot wind.

"You sure you can watch him on your own?" asked Wendigomon.

"Positive," Birdramon replied.  "You just go find Gargomon.  And if you find Gomamon, watch out for him."

"Not a problem," Wendigomon said as he charged off.

"You keep an eye out too, Centaurumon," said Birdramon.

"Will do," Centaurumon said briefly while he galloped away in the opposite direction.

"Now then," said Birdramon, "what's your name?"

"S…Sab…er…Seto…mon."

"Well at least you can talk.  Come on, we'll lie low here for a little while."

The ground was littered with defeated enemies, or at least the ones that still lived.  The surviving Flybeemon in the area were mostly unconscious, some with very bad injuries.  SaberSetomon could see the spot where Mammothmon had fallen and taken its final breath.  He saw all around him ruin and spattered blood.  The smell of smoke filled the air.  The sounds of battle came from every direction.  And through it all, Birdramon stood a careful guard over him, always peering from one direction to the next to look for any possible attackers.  He felt safe for the moment; cared for.  He thought back on all the other times there'd been someone watching out for him.  There had been digimon there for almost his entire life to watch over him, making sure he was safe and alive.  He wasn't sure if he'd ever really been totally self-reliant at any point before this battle.  Even now he wasn't watching out for himself.  There was always been someone out there to aid him.  Something was different this time though.  He was obviously being cared for by these digimon, but it was different.  It was different ever since he'd killed that Musyamon.  Now he was no longer just a burden to be watched over and taken care of.  Now he was part of a sort of alliance.  It wasn't like when he was with Beelzemon, when he couldn't do anything.  This time he was working with these digimon.  They watched out for him, but he also watched out for them.  And suddenly the protection he got was no longer a sign of weakness, but a source of strength.  Now he could finally contribute something.  Now he could protect others, even as they protected him.  He wanted more, and the only way to get it was to recover swiftly so he could get back to protecting them.

SaberSetomon had no idea how long it took.  All he knew that he was getting better, and he was doing it fast.  Soon he could talk and move again.  Then he could sit up, and after that he could stand.  His left arm was still too badly hurt to make much use of, but much of his bleeding had stopped, except for the gaping wound in his forehead.  Streams of blood dripped down from it over his for, around his muzzle, and down to his chin where they eventually dripped off.

"Do you think you can walk?" asked Birdramon.

SaberSetomon took a few tentative steps.  His expression was deathly serious and he spoke not a word.  He did however give a slight nod.  He was ready to get out there once again.

"Going my way?"

"I don't see why not," said SaberSetomon.  "After all, we both have the same goal here.  We both want to survive."

"And we want the innocent digimon of this village to survive as well," added Birdramon.

They both headed toward the battle, which had shifted to one side of town by now.  They fought their way through a few opponents, none of which were too remarkable.  They aided their allies and cleared paths for fleeing villagers who thus far been too frightened to run for their lives.  As they entered the oldest part of town the enemies grew thicker as the buildings grew larger.  There were some pretty big estates in this section of town where the battle was reaching its climax, and most of them were getting torn apart by the ravenous attacking digimon.  The eerie glow of a great bonfire could be seen up ahead.  SaberSetomon and Birdramon fought their way toward it together.  But when they reached it they were stunned.

An immense inferno had gripped the entire area.  Digimon could be seen fighting in the blaze, some dying in it.  Pillars of fire reached up houses and across the skimpy vegetation that grew in the cobblestone plaza.  Anything flammable had been set ablaze, including the many large buildings that surrounded what they now saw to be a central courtyard.  Before them they spied Gargomon and Wendgimon standing back to back and ready to fire in any direction.

"Gargomon!" Birdramon called out.

"Birdramon!  Stay back!" Gargomon shouted.  "It's too dangerous!"

Before Birdramon could respond the mansion at the opposite end of the plaza exploded, sending flaming wreckage in every direction.  Deadly burning missiles rained down all of the area as an enormous wall of flame sprouted where there had once stood a building.  And within that wall there appeared a shadow, just barely visible at first.  But soon that shadow grew darker as its source marched closer.  SaberSetomon recognized the shadow soon enough.

"Birdramon, you've got to get out of here while there's still time," he said very nervously.

"Oh no I don't.  I'm not following your orders."

"Trust me, it's for your own good."

"I'll fight whatever I have to for these digimon who took us in.  I have to.  I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"In a few seconds you won't be you at all if you don't fly!"

But it was too late.  A gust of wind sprang up and revealed the demon walking within the flame.  It was Mephismon, looking as heartless and cruel as ever.  Gargomon and Wendigomon, who'd been knocked down by the explosion, quickly righted themselves and got ready to attack with everything they had.

"Get out of my way," Mephismon said as he continued to walk forward.

"Sorry, goat-boy," Gargomon said as he rotated his gun barrels.  "No way are you getting by us."

"The judge and jury have left the building," said Wendigomon, cracking his knuckles.  "Guess who's left."

Mephismon stopped walking forward.  For a moment it looked like he might have been backing off, but instead he just smiled and crouched slightly to charge.

"Gargo Pellet!"

Gargomon fired just Mephismon began his lightning-fast advance.  Mephismon was far too quick to be hit.  Two steps from side to side were all he needed to dodge the rain of bullets as he crossed the hundred-foot gap between himself and Gargomon in half a second.  He reached out with his right hand, grabbed Gargomon by the face, and tossed him back into Wendigomon with enough force to launch them both through not one but five buildings all in the blink of an eye.  They never saw it coming.  With those two out of the way, Mephismon continued his march forward.

"Mephismon!" SaberSetomon shouted as he hobbled toward the invincible monster.

"Well, well, well," Mephismon said bemusedly.  "And here I thought I'd have to hunt for you."

"I'm not going to let you destroy this town!"

"Oh I'm not here for the town this time.  It's more of a side benefit.  No, I'm here for you."

"For…for me?"

"That's right.  It's time for you to die, and even though it will be quick I assure you it will be excruciating."

Mephismon's grin disappeared.  He'd visibly lost all patience.  He obviously meant to carry through with his threats and to do so immediately.  SaberSetomon raised his right hand to block just as Mephismon charged.  Mephismon had to change his attack quickly, and thus went from a punch to a grab.  He grabbed SaberSetomon's wrist and tossed him back toward the middle of the plaza with a whipping motion that nearly pulled SaberSetomon's good arm out of its socket.  He tried to land gracefully, but he slipped and tumbled across the cobblestone ground, earning himself a few extra bruises.  He spat out a mouthful of blood as he scrambled to his feet.  Mephismon advanced on him with a brisk pace and deadly intent.

"Meteor Wing!"

Birdramon's attack went flying toward Mephismon, but when it hit it did nothing more than disperse on his muscular back.  He turned his attention toward her only long enough to kick a burning wooden beam her direction.  There was enough power behind the kick to rocket the projectile toward Birdramon at a speed too fast to dodge.  The blow to her stomach knocked her back and out of the fight.  Mephismon's temporary distraction was all SaberSetomon needed though.  He lunged and plowed into Mephismon from behind.  Mephismon twisted around in SaberSetomon's arms just in time to get an Inferno Fist to the face.  The blow catapulted Mephismon into a burning building, which promptly collapsed on top of him.  Though it had been a pretty decent attack, it left SaberSetomon drained.  He collapsed onto one knee as every muscle, every wound, and every joint and nerve screamed out at him in pain.  Sweat and blood dripped off his snout.  He breathed heavily.  He started to reach up with his right hand when his fingers grazed something at his side.  He immediately remembered it: his digivice, strapped onto his belt.

"Last chance…" said SaberSetomon.  "Better hope this works when I really need it."

He snatched the digivice from his belt and closed his eyes.  He hoped with all his might to get some kind of reaction.  He felt something inside it.  He knew the glow was ready to explode out and once again make him digivolve.  He wasn't sure if either he or the digivice could take another evolution, but he was damned sure he wouldn't survive without it.

That was when the unthinkable happened.  Mephismon exploded from beneath the collapsed building and was upon SaberSetomon in an instant, leaving a trail of afterimages in his path.  With one mighty knee to the face, Mephismon broke SaberSetomon's nose.  SaberSetomon was sent into one large back-flip and he landed firmly on his belly twenty feet or so away.  SaberSetomon looked up in his shocked and bloody state with his body sprawled across the ground just in time to see Mephismon take sadistic pleasure in stomping his giant hoof down right onto his digivice, where it had fallen from his hands.  The fragile machine was utterly destroyed, and Mephismon grinned with the new certainty of his victory.  He was ready to ascend to his true power, and now all that was left for him to do was to kill this little weakling that lay before him.  SaberSetomon was terrified.  His digivice was smashed, his allies were all gone, his body was broken, and he was about to die.


	25. Pain and Hope

[Okay, so the updates haven't been coming fast or regularly lately.  I'm sorry about that, but I'm not going to bother with making any excuses.  It's just the way things work out.  I should, however, explain one thing.  The webmaster for my website isn't able to get online as frequently or for as long as he used to, so he won't be able to really do a whole lot of updating.  That means until further notice, I won't be able to bring you any new pictures.  I hope you can bear with me on this, and I'm sure we all hope he can get a reliable connection sometime in the not-too-distant future.  I know it sure sucked when I was offline for a good six months or so and I wouldn't want him to endure the same thing.  Anyway, now that I've made this whole introduction and managed to prolong your getting to the next part of this fic (which is extra mean considering when I last left you it was a cliffhanger), it's time to get back down to the business of the story.  I'm not really sure how much longer I expect it to go on, but rest assured we are nearing the final act.]

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"You know, I always hated you," Mephismon said with a sneer as he towered over the broken and battered SaberSetomon.  "You disgusted me since I first laid eyes on you.  You're just another weak, pathetic creature bent on getting in my way.  You can't imagine how irritating it was being ordered to keep you alive."

"To keep…me…?"

"I don't know what changed his mind, and I don't really give a damn at this point.  The point is that I'm going to kill you now, and I'll be made into a living god for it.  There is no sweeter prize I could ask for."

"You…bastard…"

"Maybe I'll start by crushing your arms and legs.  Then I could tear them off and toss your still-living torso to the hounds.  Or maybe I'll reach down your throat and pull out your organs one at a time while you watch.  Even better, I could break every bone in your body and then skin you alive.  One time I kept someone alive for three days while I did that.  I'm hoping to break that record."

SaberSetomon reached forward with his right hand to try to crawl away, but Mephismon saw and his eyes blazed with a dark flame.  With one savage motion he slammed his hoof down hard on SaberSetomon's right hand, crushing most of its bones and leaving a growing blood splatter on the ground.  SaberSetomon screamed in terrible pain.

"Don't force me to make your death a quick one," Mephismon said with a heartless snarl, "I won't allow that."

Even though Mephismon still stood on his crushed hand, SaberSetomon tried to punch him with his already badly wounded left arm.  He swung the massive appendage right toward Mephismon's side, but the satyr caught SaberSetomon's hand in his palm and held it for a moment.  Then, with a sadistic grin, he forced the arm back toward SaberSetomon with such force that the bone completely snapped just below the elbow and burst through the skin.  SaberSetomon screamed again, a long and agonized howl.  Now with one crushed hand and a bone jutting from his other arm, he was ready to give up and simply pass out from the pain.  Mephismon looked like he'd just broken his favorite toy.

"I told you not to force me to make this quick."

SaberSetomon went limp.  His eyes were frozen open, his tongue lolled out, and the pool of blood that had amassed beneath him stained his fur.  There was nothing behind those once shining yellow eyes, which now held shrunken pupils and a glazed appearance.  Mephismon looked down on him for a few seconds, a look of anger and disappointment on his face.

"Useless.  You couldn't even put up a good fight before you died."

Mephismon lifted his hoof once again and brought it over SaberSetomon's skull.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

Mephismon looked up with a startled expression.  "Who said that?!"

A digimon stood before him, surrounded by the flames that leapt off the burning rubble.  "Me."

"Wait your turn.  I'll just be another second."

Mephismon raised his hoof up once more over SaberSetomon's head and got ready to bring it down as hard as he could.  The mystery digimon didn't give him the chance though, quickly grabbing at something on its side and hurling it at him.  Mephismon felt an explosion of pain on the left side of his collar bone as he was shoved back from the sheer force of impact.  He cried out and his right hand instinctively shot up to the source of his sudden agony.  What he felt was an object protruding from his pierced flesh and a lot of warm, dark blood.  Pulling his hand away, he stared down at his now stained palm in disbelief.  That disbelief instantly turned to seething anger as his eyes shifted back toward the figure in the flame.

"No mercy," he said with a low, rumbling growl.

Without taking his eyes off this new digimon, he reached up to his collar again and grabbed hold of the weapon there.  With one torturous jerk he wrenched it from his body and held it in his hand.  It was a dagger with a curved, eight-inch blade made from some kind of black metal and a handle done in a traditional Japanese style.  He then let it drop to the ground.

Mephismon began walking forward while the mystery digimon remained still.  SaberSetomon tried to watch what he could, but shifting around very much was far too painful for him, and he kept on drifting in and out of consciousness.  Mephismon made his move.

"Death Cloud!"

Swinging his mammoth arms forward, Mephismon created a strong gust of wind that carried enough of his violet miasma with it to kill everyone in the city.  As soon as the cloud hit the fire it ignited and incinerated everything in the area.  Even the flames were blown back, which revealed the mystery digimon, who even then stood with her left arm shielding her face and only some burns on her clothes.  She lowered her arm and revealed her identity.

She stood roughly six feet tall and was covered from muzzle to tail with bright orange fur.  White fur adorned he chest, fingers and toes while red fur decorated the crown of her head and the tip of her tail.  The fur atop her head was impeccably groomed and tied together at the base of her skull with a string while that in the front was combed forward in several spiked locks.  Her long ears, black on the edges, reached out from the side of her head and her stern, yellow eyes were focused straight forward.  Around her left eye was a strange but simple pattern of black fur.  She had one protruding tooth on each side of her mouth, just beneath the upturned edges of her lips.  She wore strange clothes, including a pair of baggy red pants that reached down to about halfway in between the two joints in her catlike legs, a dark gray belt made of a tough-looking fabric, and some kind of off-white wrapped shirt that was tucked into her belt and covered her limited feminine curves, although barely.  Her muscular forearms and lower legs gave her a very tough appearance and were guarded by thick leather pads strapped to them, and at the end of her tail a long brown cloth strap offered limited protection against injury to the appendage.  In her belt were tucked a pair of matching sheathes, the one on her left side empty and short while the one on her right was long and currently occupied by a full-length katana.  The sheaths were wooden, though covered with turquoise for a blue finish and given gold guards at the top and bottom.  Finally, she carried a large flag on her back, which consisted of a long wooden pole, sharpened at the base, tied at a right angle to a shorter one near its top and a loose, triangular red flag tied to the posts at its three corners with the sole kanji symbol "chikara" emblazoned on it in black.

"Oh I get it," Mephismon said with a little smirk.  "It's you."

"Back down, goat boy," she said as she advanced toward him.

Mephismon stood several feet taller than his new enemy, but that didn't dampen her confidence in the least.  Once she reached him she stood chest-to-chest with him and looked straight up into his eyes.

"As touching as this is, I'm here under orders.  Don't even think about getting in my way."

"I'm not here to talk, Mephismon.  Leave now or never leave at all."

"I don't want to talk either.  That's why I'll just finish this one off and be on my way."

"Touch him and die."

"At whose hands?  Yours?  Little girl, I can smell how new that flesh of yours is to you.  What is a weak and inexperienced Ultimate going to do against me?"

"Actually, I'm a Mega."

"I see," he said with an unbelieving smirk.  "I've got a job to do here.  We can talk later, after I've claimed my reward."

"You can talk to my blade right now if you'd like."

"Really?  I'm willing to bet you're all talk."

"Try me."

"Gladly…"

Mephismon quickly tried to grab her in a bear hug, but he stopped mid-grab when she yanked the butt of her katana up into his chest, right under his bottom ribs.  A pained grimace washed over his face, but he endured the jab.  His opponent's expression was still calm with those upturned lips.

"You have some skill," Mephismon said as he took a step back.

She seated her blade back in its sheath and brushed some hair out of her eyes.  Mephismon didn't much care for her response and attacked immediately by lunging at her head-first so as to crush her with his huge horns.  She quickly raised both hands though and caught Mephismon's assault in her palms.  Despite Mephismon's incredible strength he could do little more than push her back a few inches at a time.

"Had enough?" she asked, her arms straining against Mephismon's horns.

Mephismon pulled back and snorted angrily.  He pawed the ground with his hooves and stared straight into her eyes.

"Maybe killing you will be more pleasurable than I thought."

She bent her knees and grabbed the hilt of her katana in her left hand with her right holding onto the sheath.  Her body leaned forward just slightly and she narrowed her eyes almost until the point of being closed.

"Kuroittou Kamisori!"

She drew her katana and slashed at Mephismon's neck with unbelievable speed.  A dark trail followed her black blade as it sliced the air, but it was quickly apparent that the air was all it had sliced when Mephismon ducked just under the stroke and lunged.  What he didn't account for was that she would keep on slashing and her right hand held her second attack.  Before Mephismon could grab his enemy she cracked him across the face with her sheath.  He was stunned for a moment and that was all the time she needed to leap up over him, dragging her sword across his left shoulder.  As she landed a fine spray of black blood erupted from the long, razor-thin cut that ran from his chest, over his shoulder and halfway down his back.

Mephismon did not cry out, but he looked like he wanted to more than anything.  Instead he tried to cover up the long cut with his right arm as best as possible.  He turned back to look at her as she started to wipe the blood from her blade.

"If I don't kill him, I'll be lucky to survive my master's wrath…"

"Lay one finger on him and you will NOT survive mine."

"You can't protect him forever."

"One day soon he'll be able to do that himself."

"I will complete my mission now."

"Do it and you'll never collect your reward.  I guarantee it."

Mephismon looked into her eyes, her cold, steely eyes.  He didn't fear her nearly as much as the Destroyer.  But she was perfectly able and willing to kill him right then and there.  Only months ago, Mephismon believed himself to be one of the strongest digimon alive, but he was discovering just how low on the charts he was.  He knew the rules of the world, he knew that he would have to grow stronger to survive, he knew that the weak would die and the strong would thrive.  But now he found himself surrounded by the truly strong, and he would have to become stronger than them to survive.  The choice was clear.

"Don't think for a second that this is over.  You'll leave his side soon enough, and when you do I'll be right there to crush him.  After that, you and I can finish things once and for all."

"Crawl back to the shadows, Mephismon."

Mephismon turned swiftly and strode arrogantly out of town.  The sounds of battle were already dying down as the attacking digimon fell to the hands of the town's defenders.  The fires still blazed all over the city, but they would run out of fuel soon.  SaberSetomon's rescuer returned both her katana and her dagger to their sheaths and calmly walked over to where SaberSetomon lay, momentarily conscious.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

SaberSetomon only returned an angry look to her.

"Stupid question I suppose.  Here, let me help."  She reached for SaberSetomon's left arm where the bone protruded from the skin.  She moved the bone very carefully back to where it belonged.  SaberSetomon was in excruciating pain, but he'd long since lost the energy to scream.  All he could do was to tear up from the pain.  With the bone set she reached to her shirt and tore off three long strips of the off-white fabric.  The first she wrapped around right where the bone had snapped.  It started to soak up the blood right away.  With the other to strips of cloth she tied two sturdy sticks she'd found on the ground to SaberSetomon's arm to act as a splint.

"So what…do I call you…?"

"SamuSetomon," she said cleanly as she moved to examine his right hand.

SaberSetomon said nothing more.  He saw nothing more.  He simply drifted off.

Day 35 

The phone rang in the still morning air.  A hand reached out from underneath the tan down comforter of a large bed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jackrabbit!" Willis hollered on the other end.

Jack sat up in bed and ran his free hand through his tousled hair.  "Willis?"

Willis meanwhile walked from his kitchen into his living room, where he gave his Saint Bernard a playful scratch behind the ears and continued his search for his missing shoes.  "Yeah, it's me.  What's up with you?  You sound tired."

Jack let out a long yawn.  "I just woke up," he finally said as he turned to look at his bedside clock.

"Well you'd better get moving.  You don't want to sleep all day, do you?"

"It's not even nine o'clock yet."  Jack scanned the somewhat Spartan room with its earthy-colors.  He finally spotted his pants hanging off the dresser and went to retrieve them.

"Saturday is no excuse for being lazy," Willis quipped as he shooed his dog off the sofa and flipped up the cushions with no luck.  "I thought that was one of the first things they taught you, Mr. Businessman."

"I take it you're not quite used to this time zone yet."

"Aha!" Willis shouted as he pulled his shoes out from under the chair.  His dog barked.

"See?  Even your dog thinks it's too early for noise," Jack said as he pulled on his slacks.

"Hey, Bernie thinks you should get up too."

"I'm up, I'm up," Jack said while looking through his closet for a shirt to wear.  He finally settled on a light blue one that matched his charcoal-gray slacks well.  "So I take it Mimi and Michael didn't mind watching him too much while you were in Hawaii?"

"Let's just say I owe them one really big favor."  Willis took a bite of the toast he made himself as he started putting on his shoes.

"If it's half as big as that dog of yours, you might as well say goodbye to one of your kidneys now."

"So how're things with you?" Willis asked as he grabbed a Hawaiian shirt off the floor and pulled it on over his undershirt.  "I heard you and Amber broke up."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Through the grapevine."

"Well it's not true."  Jack looked over at his fiancée, who was still dead to the world in bed.  "We just had a fight.  I'd have to be pretty stupid to give up over one little fight."

"Yeah, it'll take a whole lot more than one thing to make you want to get away from someone and scour them from your memory for all time."

"Huh?"

"Nothing.  Hey!  Did you get your wedding invitation yet?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't tell me you're thinking about not going."

Jack started looking through his ties for something to go with his shirt.  "Well come on, our little club isn't exactly super exclusive.  Can you imagine what would happen if I went flying halfway around the world every time a former DigiDestined got married?  I haven't even talked to most of them in years."

"Come on, don't be such a buzz kill.  And don't forget that they did probably save your life at least once.  Besides, now's as good a time as any to reconnect."

"Well, I'll think about it.  I just always feel like I won't have anything to talk about when I go to one of those things."

"If you need help, I've always got a few suggestions."

"You would."  Jack finally decided on a crimson plaid tie.

"You could always tell the story about how we started calling you Jackrabbit."  Willis tossed a chewed-up tennis ball past his dog.  Bernie went sauntering after it.

"Not a chance."

"Then I could tell it for you."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Consider it motivation to keep you talking."

"If that's the case, you won't be able to get a word in edgewise during the whole week."

"I really don't understand why you don't like that story."  Bernie returned the ball to Willis and he tossed it again.

"It's embarrassing!"

"But it's so funny!  And it was just as embarrassing for me, Joe and Michael.  Don't forget that all of us were there."

"Don't remind me."

"Well if you do decide to come, I can guarantee I'll be there.  I'm hoping to have a repeat of my Hawaii trip."

"What do you mean?"

"A wedding is one of the top five places to meet singles."

"Oh I get it now.  You've already batted through the whole lineup here and now you've got to go to other parts of the world to find some action."

"Bingo."

"Good luck with that."  Jack finished putting on his shoes, rubbing off a few scuff marks he noticed.

"Good luck with the whole marriage thing.  I think you'll need it."

"What's that?"

"Marriage is rough is all."

"Oh yeah, and dating is just a stroll through the meadow."

"Come on, you can't honestly tell me you don't miss the thrill of the hunt.  Picking out the right one from the herd, circling your prey until you catch that first smile, the first touch, the mating dance…"

"…The awkwardness, the rejection, the hundreds of dollars worth of wasted drinks.  I'm glad I got out when I did."

"Which was about five minutes in.  Come on, you've been with Amber since what, before you could walk?"

"We've been together five years and you know that."

"Okay, so before you could drink."

"Right, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is you've only gone out with what, three other women?  As I recall, two of those didn't get past the first date and the third lasted for maybe a month."

"Exactly!  None of them held a candle to Amber.  We've been together for five years, and I don't need experience with dozens of women to know she's the right one for me."

"If you say so."

Jack then noticed Amber beginning to stir in her sleep.  "Look, I've gotta go," he whispered.

"You're making her breakfast again, aren't you?"

"What, you think I should just sit around and tell her to make me breakfast?"

"When was the last time she made it for you?"

"That's not the point.  It's a partnership, Willis.  One of those deals where everyone works together.  'All men are created equal' and so forth."

"In my experience, some are less equal than others."

"Cute."

"Don't get any bacon on that tie you're wearing."

"How'd you know I was wearing a tie?"

"Because you always wear a tie when you're with Amber."

"Look, we'll talk later."

"Alright.  See ya."

"Bye."

Willis and Jack hung up their phones and went about their mornings, each in their own way.  It was at right about the same time, but quite a few time zones away in Japan that TK received a knock on his apartment door.  He looked up from the TV which he'd been staring at blankly for the last few hours and lifted his feet off the coffee table, nearly knocking over a few spent bottles in the process.  He shambled over to the door in the wrinkled clothes he'd been wearing for three days and opened it roughly.  On the other side out in the hallway stood Tai wearing a pressed suit and sporting his now shortened hair.

"Hey, TK."

"Hi," TK grumbled as he turned to walk back into his and now only his apartment.

"I guess you figured out why I'm here…" Tai said in a subdued tone.

TK nodded.  "They're right there by the door."

Tai turned his attention to a stack of boxes standing next to the doorway.  "Is that it?"

"If she wants to argue over who gets the couch she can come ask me herself."

"Right…" said Tai.  He began to pick up some of the boxes in his arms.  "I just got off work and didn't really have time to change.  By the looks of it, you haven't had time to change in a week."

Tai strained a smile but TK didn't respond.  Instead he just sat back down on the couch.  Tai quickly started making trips down to his car with box after box of his sister's stuff.  It took about half an hour, but eventually Tai got down to the last two boxes.  He wiped the sweat from his brow with his naked forearm before he made an attempt; he'd long since discarded his tie and jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"So what are you up to tonight?" Tai asked to try breaking the silence again.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, sounds like it's about the same for Kari."

TK didn't respond.

"You know she misses you."

"Didn't seem that way the last fifty times I tried calling around to apologize."

"Okay, so she doesn't forgive you.  She does miss you though."  Tai grabbed the first box in his arms.  It was a big one, and even heavier than it looked.  "I'm betting this is shoes," he joked.

"Uh-huh…" TK said blankly.

Tai put the box down.  "You mind if I grab a Coke or something?"

"Suit yourself."

"Thanks."  Tai walked over to the fridge and opened it up.  As he rooted through the selection he tried to keep the already one-sided conversation going.  "So have you talked to Ken and Yolei lately?  I just got my invitation the other day."

"Yeah, I got the invite.  It was to the two of us."

Tai flinched.  This wasn't going well at all.  "Is this orange juice still good?"

"I think so."

"Good, because it'll be all you've got to drink once I finish off this beer you've got in here."  Tai shut the door, now holding a bottle of beer in his hand.  He grabbed the bottle opener off the counter, popped the top and took a drink.  "Damn.  This sucks."

"Hey!"

"Relax, you've already had enough."  Tai eyed the empty bottles strewn about the living room.

"Just get out of here, okay?"

"Nope," Tai said matter-of-factly as he flopped down on the couch next to TK.  "You see, I made a promise."

"A promise?"

"I promised Matt I'd give you a good kick in the butt.  He'd do it himself but duty calls you know."

"Look Tai, I just want to be alone, okay?"

Tai smacked TK in the back of the head.

"Ow!" TK shouted.  "What was that for?!"

"I just wanted to hit you, okay?"

"That's not funny."

Tai hit him again.

"Ow!"

"That was kind of funny."

"Stop it!"

Tai made another move but this time TK shielded himself with his hands and jumped off the couch away from Tai.

"Good," Tai said with a smile.  "Getting off the couch is step one."

"Get outta here, Tai!  I don't need this now!"

"Oh get the hell over yourself!" Tai ordered.  "You know a few days ago I would've been thrilled to have you as my brother-in-law.  But now that I see you sulking around in your hole here, I'm glad Kari said no."

TK turned beet red and clenched his fists.

"So things didn't go your way for once," Tai continued.  "And when they didn't you lost it.  You could've just accepted her answer and moved on.  But you kept pushing and now look where you've ended up.  Do you think I acted like this after Sora dumped me?"

TK let out a breath he'd been holding and shut his eyes.  "…No."

"Actually, yes."

"Huh?"

"I moped around for a month after she dumped me.  I was crushed!"

"So you understand."

"You're damn right I understand.  I understand that it doesn't do you any good.  After a whole month I finally saw that everything was exactly the same as the night when she'd dumped me!  I hadn't done a thing and until I got off my butt and tried living life again, nothing was going to change."

"So you got better just like that?"

"No, it took me a little while.  But at least I was getting better.  Now do you want to just lie around here for a month doing nothing?"

"I guess not."

"What's that?"

"I said no, alright?!"

"That's better.  You could use a little fire in your belly about now."

"But she broke my heart, Tai."

"I've known my sister longer than anybody, and believe me when I say she'd never do anything to hurt anyone, especially you.  You know that too."

"I thought I did."

"Stop being such an idiot!" Tai ordered as he took another drink.

TK walked over to the window and looked out on the streets below.  "Then tell me what to do because I'm all out of ideas."

"You know I love you like a brother, TK.  But Kari's my real sister, and she has to come first."

"So you're not going to tell me how to get her back."

"If you can make her take you back then you're one step ahead of every other guy in history.  The only way you two will get back together is if you both want to."

"So is there anything useful you can tell me?"

"Only something I thought you'd have come up with yourself.  Get all your crying done tonight, because you can always hope that tomorrow will be better."

"Hope…"TK mused.

"To hope!"  Tai raised his bottle and downed another shot.

"So where is Kari staying anyway?"

"One step at a time.  Right now you need to spend some time getting back on your feet and getting used to being single again."

"But I don't want to be single again."

"And you might not have to if Kari wants to get back together, but that might not happen.  I wish I could tell you it would, but while you can hope for the best you've got to be ready for the worst."

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point."

"I wasn't the president of the debate team for nothing."

"So what now?"

"Now I take down the last two boxes and go home to some real beer.  What you do is your decision."  Tai stood up, downing the remaining beer, and walked over to where the last two boxes sat.

"You mind if I give you a hand there?" asked TK.  "I mean, I'd like to make up for being an idiot earlier."

"Sure thing."

TK helped Tai downstairs with the boxes and saw him off.  He had plenty of thinking to do that night.  It was the first time in a few days that he'd really sat and thought about what had happened.  It was also the first time in that same stretch that he actually showered and had a good, long sleep.  Tai had been right.  There was always hope for tomorrow.


	26. Call to Arms

[Once again, I've taken my time in updating.  For that I must once again apologize.  Midterms have been really dragging me down, and I'm hoping to get out the next chapter in a much more timely manner.  In case you hadn't noticed, the site has been updated to include pictures of SamuSetomon, but my webmaster continues to have connection troubles that I shouldn't have to go into right now.  Anyway, here's the next chapter.  I just hope you all haven't lost track of where we were…]

Day 37 

Even through shut eyelids the sun was too bright.  It was so bright it caused the young man to stir in his sleep.  As he shifted his body weight he became more and more aware of his surroundings.  He was leaning against a hot, metal surface in the open air with his seat being very broad and moving at a pretty good pace.  As things came into focus he recognized it as the bay of a pickup truck, already occupied by a few recently used farming tools and some scattered hay.  He sat near the open gate with one leg dangling over the edge and the other pressed up to his chest.  Wide expanses of dry terrain stretched out in every direction.

"Damn hay," he said in a deeper voice than he'd been expecting.  He brushed the offending foliage from his shaggy red hair and stubbly face.

As he started to move a dull ache surged through his whole body.  He immediately fell back, simultaneously shocked by the unexpected pain and surprised it hadn't been much worse.  The latter was naturally the more confusing of the two.  He stretched his now muscular arms and felt fine soon enough.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, he took a broad look across the plains with his golden-yellow eyes.  As he did so he noticed the thick brown leather glove on his hand for the first time.  Upon closer inspection he saw that it was fingerless and attached to the top was a thick iron plate with a small design of three triangles engraved on it.  He quickly saw he had another just like it on his other hand as well.  Now taking stock of himself, he saw that he wore a wifebeater undershirt and a pair of baggy jeans with a belt like he'd worn in his dream.  He didn't have any shoes on, but instead had wrapped his feet in a bandage material.  They were naturally almost blackened from walking.  He also noticed that a lock of hair on either side of his face had been separated from the rest by being pulled through three metal beads.  Finally, there was also an off-white bandage wrapped around his left arm at the elbow.  It looked like it had been stained with blood recently.

"What's happening to me?" he wondered out loud.  "What's with these damn dreams?"

He let both legs dangle over the open gate.  It felt like it had been years since that day on the bridge with Amadeus and that woman.  By the looks of himself it probably had been.  He was older now.  A lot older.  He guessed he was in his late teens, not quite twenty yet.  He had to guess because he still didn't know who he was.

But he felt like he was getting closer to the truth.  He knew a lot more than he did on the bridge.  He even had a few clues as to his identity.  For starters there was his earliest memory of himself at the campground in Japan.  To him that suggested he'd called that country his home once, but what he was doing now in the American southwest was beyond him.  Next, there was those dreams he'd been having about that other world where he was a monster and where nothing made sense.  There was Amadeus of course, as much as he hated to admit it.  He knew that Amadeus knew about who he was, and the only way to learn the truth for himself may have been confronting his worst fear.  But he wasn't nearly so desperate yet.  Then there was that woman on the bridge.  What had she called herself?  Kari.  That was it.  She'd been one of the few people he could think of who'd been nice to him.  Perhaps the only person.  But there was something more to it than that.  From the first time she spoke he knew there was a connection between them that went beyond simple kindness.  It was almost as if he could hear her voice in his head, like the same blood flowed in their veins.  Back then, he'd had the silly notion of wanting to call her "mommy' for a few moments.  But despite all this, he doubted she could tell him who he was.  He wasn't really sure anyone could.

His head dropped forward and he let out a long sigh.  As he looked down at his arms he noted how dirty and scraped they were.  His fingers were rough with chipped nails.  His clothes were covered in dried dirt and he smelled of sweat and mud.  He knew his life had been a hard one.  The victim of circumstances beyond his control.  The plaything of fate.  Without anything constant to hold onto he'd been confused and unsettled for as long as he could remember.  He sighed again.

Shutting his eyes tight, he lifted his head and simply sat.  Despite the rumbling truck beneath him, it seemed he'd come to a rare quiet moment.  Then he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and his eyes shot open.  He became dizzy.  He nearly fell over.  Then, the sky above him turned red and the clouds parted to reveal thousands of little lights raining down from the heavens.

"No…!" he gasped.  But there was nothing he could do.  Just like he'd seen before in his dreams, the bolts began to strike the ground and erupted into domed explosions.  The flames spread across the horizon like a mountain range.  Everything was swallowed up by the voracious inferno and the beast was quickly drawing closer.  Everything was exploding all around him and then he saw the bolt with his name on it.  He screamed.

The young man felt the wind knocked from him.  He was completely limp as his body was hurled across the rough ground.  There was just a lot of sound, a lot of movement and a lot of pain.  As he finally slowed to a stop, his eyes began to open again.  Looking up at the sky, nothing was out of the ordinary.  There had been no rain of fire, no explosions, no nothing.  He saw the truck speeding away down the asphalt road, and he saw the many scrapes and bruises he'd sustained after falling off the back.  The knees of his pants had been torn opened, his elbows and knuckles all skinned, the palms of his hands were completely crimson, and over a dozen other nasty scrapes checkered his body.  He'd been lucky that the truck wasn't going any faster; he might have broken his neck.

He lay there for a while, immobilized.  He was silent and alone once more with only the throbbing pain to keep him company.  This time though there was something different.  He didn't feel himself being pulled back into his dreams.  He didn't feel his consciousness slipping away.  His mind was clear and it wasn't going anywhere.  Eventually he rose to his feet and began hobbling down the road.  He didn't have a choice, really.  No matter what life threw his way he had to survive.  He didn't know any other way to act.  He may have been a victim of circumstance, but he wasn't about to let it beat him.  He was sure there'd be a town down the road eventually.  Maybe a place with some good food, a comfortable bed and where he could get a nice, warm bath.  That was all he really wanted.  That was all he'd ever wanted.

Later on in the day, the smell of cooked fish wafted through the dirt roads of a northern quadrant village.  Young digimon played with one another, running up and down the streets while their elders shopped, spoke, cooked, and did whatever else needed doing.  A single figure clad in a beige robe pierced through the wall of trees surrounding the village.  He walked forward with brisk, determined steps.  Digimon stopped what they were doing as he walked by and turned to watch his slim, yet forceful figure.  The hood upon his head shaded his face from their prying eyes, but even looking at him told volumes.  Something was happening.

He walked right down the main road in town and up the steps of the old temple.  Without even knocking he pushed the doors open and walked through the antechamber and into the temple's darkened main room where Taomon sat in deep meditation.

"Taomon," the man said flatly.

Taomon's eyes opened halfway and she looked up at the intruder.  Once again, a single look was all that was needed.

"I understand," she replied.

Rising to her feet, Taomon followed him back out the door and into the light.  They began walking down the street again.  Antylamon walked around a corner with an armful of recently chopped wood.  As she saw the two of them she knew what was up.

"Here," she said to a group of scampering young digimon.  "Could you please take this wood to the temple?"

The youngsters happily agreed and relieved Antylamon of her burden.  Antylamon quickly ran to catch up with Taomon and the visitor.  The three arrived shortly at a makeshift outdoor shop.  Dozens of oddly-shaped items of all kinds could be seen on display and still other treasures were hidden in a large backpack kept perpetually under the wooden table that served as a counter.  Standing atop a footstool behind said counter was Hawkmon.  Palmon hovered on just the other side of the street with a bushel of flowers for sale.  They both saw the three at the same time.

"I guess it's time to close up shop then," said Hawkmon.

"We've found the Destroyer," said the traveler.

"We knew you would, Gennai," said Palmon.  "You've always been a great guide."

"And once again you'll be out there doing what I can't."

"Come on," said Taomon.  "By the look on Gennai's face, I doubt there is much time to spare."

"Time has been against us since the beginning," said Gennai.  "But now that all is out in the open we can't afford any mess-ups."

"I just hope it's not too late," said Antylamon.

"I've come to believe that as long as good digimon like all of you exist, it is never too late," Gennai assured them.

"I'll have to remember that one," Hawkmon said as he stuffed his 'relics' into his giant backpack.

"Don't even think about bringing that thing along!" Palmon scolded.

"What's the point in surviving today if we starve tomorrow?" asked Hawkmon.  "One must keep his livelihood."

"Time is running out and there are more contacts to make," said Gennai.  "Therefore I will be brief.  The Destroyer's base is in the southern quadrant in the middle of the Great Driver Wastes.  The Guardians and Omnimon want all our allies to meet at the town of Kalu, south of the wasteland.  From there will we launch our offensive.  We need to be at full strength for this assault, so we're not making the attack until thirty days from now unless the Destroyer goes on the attack, in which case we'll have to move no matter what."

"We'll be there soon," said Taomon.

"Why wait so long?" asked Palmon.  "Can't Omnimon get there a lot faster than us and take care of things?"

"It was Omnimon's idea.  He could just barely defeat the Corruptor, and the Destroyer is known to be far stronger than his little brother.  Plus he undoubtedly has an army of servants awaiting his command.  Omnimon knows he cannot win a victory alone this time."

"I'm not sure I like the long wait," said Antylamon.  "We're supposed to be pressed for time here."

"Time has already run out," Gennai said solemnly.  "Now it's simply a question of who will strike first."

At the same time, another Guardian, Shin, strode through the empty desert of Server.  There was nothing in sight other than sand and sky, but Shin knew that sight was not always to be trusted.  Studying the patterns in the sand, he hesitated for a moment, looked up at the sun for a moment, and then tapped his chin subconsciously while deep in thought.  Then he began walking forward again, though this time a few degrees to the left.  After a few more minutes, he stopped, looked at the sun and down at the sand, and then held his right hand before him with his fingers outstretched.  Moving forward a few inches, he touched something solid in seemingly empty air.  A slight smile crossed his face.

"Knock, knock," he said.

The air at his fingertips began to tremble and distort.  The image of empty sand melted away to be replaced by a swirling mass of green that slowly revealed itself as a tropical forest.  It was an oval opening only about seven feet high, large enough for Shin to get through.  As he stepped through the illusory wall resealed itself.  Shin now stood on the gravelly ground at the tree line.

Shin began walking again at a brisk pace, rapidly drawing near the rocky slopes of the small mountain which lay at the center of this strange place.  Before he reached it though, he heard a sound from the jungle.

"Getting better!" a high-pitched voice called out.

Shin took a step back as a ball of pink fuzz shot past him.  A moment later it was eagerly pursued by Exveemon and Stingmon.  The ball landed on a tree just long enough to crack a smile and allow Shin to identify him as Piximon before he bounced off again and headed skyward, only an instant before Stingmon and Exveemon let the tree feel the full force of their simultaneous attacks.  They were already gone though and chasing after Piximon before the splinters hit the ground.

They flew up side-by-side, pressed against one another with Exveemon's right hand and Stingmon's left shoved together like one fist, aimed straight for Piximon.  Piximon, nimble as he was, dodged out of the way and held his position behind the duo.  They immediately spun around in opposite directions but with almost identical kicks.  Exveemon went just slightly above Piximon and Stingmon slightly below, but Piximon was able to catch both by the foot at the same time.  With a mighty tug he yanked them both down to him and cracked them over the skulls with his spear before kicking them on their merry ways.  Now Exveemon and Stingmon found themselves on opposite sides of Piximon, and that was one obstacle there was no getting through.  So they began to circle him, slowly at first but they started picking up speed.  Piximon remained quite calm as they moved around him in one big circle, exactly opposite one another.  And then with no more than a look, they told one another it was the moment to strike.  They moved in without a moment's hesitation and attacked together.  Punches, kicks, jabs, and chops, all complementing one another.  When Exveemon punched, Stingmon would have another punch where Piximon would dodge an instant later.  Even with his remarkable speed, it seemed Piximon had nowhere to run.  Their strikes came so rapidly and with such flawless cooperation that it was like fighting a four-armed Ultimate.

After a few seconds of this, Piximon went on the offensive.  As he dodged a punch from Stingmon he spun and slapped Exveemon across the face with the butt of his spear.  Stingmon punched again but Piximon masterfully caught the attack in one hand while aiming the tip of his spear at Exveemon's chest.  As he held Stingmon's attack back, Piximon sent one of his force-fields exploding through the tip of his spear and slamming into Exveemon's chest, propelling the dragon digimon down into the dense jungle.  Piximon then turned back to Stingmon and swung his spear at the great insect's head.  Stingmon was able to duck backwards out of the way of the blow, but that left his chest quite exposed to Piximon's second attack, a brutal kick to the sternum which knocked the air right out of Stingmon and put some distance between the two combatants.  Piximon quickly whipped up two more force-spheres and sent one high and the other low.  The projectiles shifted direction erratically before coming around to strike Stingmon from above and below simultaneously.  With uncanny dexterity he managed to catch the hurtling distortions with his hands above and his feet below.  As he pressed back against the attacks, his strength, though great, was rapidly waning and he found himself being squeezed together.  He pressed with all his might both up and down but his arms and legs only bent more and more.  Exveemon came shooting out of the trees again, but instead of going for Piximon he punched the force-sphere out from under Stingmon's feet, freeing Stingmon to hurl the one that had come at him from above down to the ground, which it hit so hard that it sent up a huge cloud of dirt and debris and left a crater and full of pummeled trees.  Stingmon and Exveemon quickly took their fighting stances side-by-side again.

"Good," Piximon said with a smile as he lowered his spear.  "You boys are getting better."

Stingmon and Exveemon relaxed too.  "You think so?" asked Exveemon.

The three of them heard a sound from down on the ground.  As they looked down, they saw Shin standing there, clapping his hands.

"Bravo!" he called out.  "Well done!"

"I guess it's time…" said Piximon.

"Who's that?" asked Exveemon.

"That looks like one of the Guardians," said Stingmon.

"Shin," said Piximon.  "Come along, let's go down and meet him.  Can't be rude, you know."

The three of them descended with Piximon taking the lead and the others landing behind him.

"It's been a while, teacher," said Shin.

"I almost wish it had been longer," Piximon said with a grim expression.

"So I take it you know why I'm here."

Piximon looked back at Exveemon and Stingmon.  "Hey!  You will kneel in the presence of Guardian Shin!" he barked.

Stingmon and Exveemon were startled, but quickly obeyed.

"They're learning discipline, at least," Piximon said in a low tone.  "However…"

"They're not ready yet?"

"They've got strong spirits, I'll give them that much.  But you know how it is.  They take down a monster like MaloMyotismon and suddenly they think they're invincible.  I only wish I'd gotten to them sooner."

"You've never been convinced anyone's ever been ready," Shin said with a smile.  "You even said the same thing about the Guardians."

"And I was right," Piximon noted.  "You never should've been caught off-guard when Daemon appeared."

"It seems like you're never satisfied, Piximon.  Your training methods date back to a time that called for them.  Today is different."

"Not so different as you think.  If you'll recall, they were developed for fighting creatures like the Destroyer."

"Touché."

"So you can see I don't want to send them out there until they're ready for what they're going to face."

"I understand your old training partner thinks the same way."

"Lucemon?"

"He's had a few students of his own.  I'm told that despite his reservations, he himself will join in the fight against the Destroyer to see to it that none of his students are put at risk."

"Stupid…"

"Look, Piximon.  Why do you continue to train students if you don't want them to use what they learn?  Lucemon is supposedly even more skilled than you, so why shouldn't he fight?"

"Because he wasn't meant to fight.  He was never supposed to fight.  And I fear what might happen if he does."

"Well he seems to think we'll need all the help we can get.  Your students may still be green by your standards, but they'll have enough experienced fighters by their side.  I'm hoping we may even get one more."

"Forget it," said Piximon.  "The last time I went out to fight I was almost killed by a former student of mine.  The time before that I really was killed by those Dark Masters.  I'm not up for fighting anymore.  My skills may be as decent as ever, but my body's gotten too old for this kind of thing.  I'm here to train the next generation how to do it right."

"There's another way you could still be useful," said Shin.  "I know you know.  What is the _Fifth Eye_?"

Piximon's eyes flared up.  "Stupid, impatient brat!" he scolded.  "I told all of you long ago that you would never need to know that!"

"Well like it or not, we _do_ need to know now.  The Destroyer is looking for it."

"So make sure he doesn't find it by stopping him first."

"And if we can't?"

"That is not an option."

Shin gritted his teeth.  He could see there was no arguing about this with Piximon.

"New orders!" Piximon bellowed to his students.  "War is now imminent in the Southern Quadrant!  Though your training has only begun, you're being dispatched to await the battle!  Once this situation is resolved you will report back here immediately to continue your training!  Understood?!"

"Yes, teacher!" Stingmon and Exveemon recited together.

Back in the south, it was yet another perfectly clear day.  Barren red soil receded into great mesas in the distance from the point of view of one of many small towns scattered throughout Zhuqiaomon's old domain.  Aside from the old wooden water tower, every building in town was a single story high and made of clay.  There were a few wooden doors and window covers, but most did without.  It was against one of these buildings that a red dinosaur digimon leaned while soaking up the mid-day sunlight.  But more than that, he was waiting for his companions who were about to emerge a little bit more abruptly than he expected.

"Wwuuuaaagh!"

A Terriermon was tossed out through the door and hit the ground on his chin.  His companion quickly opened his eyes and just looked down at him.

"That was a cheap shot!" Terriermon shouted as he flipped back around and pushed himself upright with his ears, even if he didn't quite stay on sure footing.  "C'mon!  I'll *urp* take all a' ya!  Bring it on!"

"Terriermon, are you okay?" the dinosaur asked.

"Oh hey Guilmon!" Terriermon said, nearly stumbling as he turned both his stance and his mood.

"You look sick," Guilmon said as he sat up.

"Aw don't be such a fuddy-duddy.  Moumantai, my good mon!  Moumantai!"

Guilmon sniffed the air.  "Ew," he said after a moment.  "What smells all yucky?"

"Hey don't *hic* judge me!  What do you know about it?  Nothin'!  So don't judge!  Jeez, dinosaurs are so weird…"

Terriermon leaned on one of his ears to keep his balance.  It didn't work too well, as his ear slipped right out from under him.  A couple seconds later, his drinking buddy came outside after him, looking a tad tipsy himself.

"Wow, they really threw for distance," the disheveled-looking young brunette slurred.

"It was all me, Ryo," Terriermon said somewhat proudly.

Ryo was looking a little rough for his time in the Digital World.  His beard was scraggly, his hair was dry and unwashed, and his clothes were dusty and torn here and there.  He walked very carefully over to where Terriermon lay, but as soon as he stopped he lost his balance and fell right on his backside, not that he felt it.

"I'm boooored," Guilmon whined.  "Can we go now?"

"Well, s-shure thing buddy," Ryo said as he turned his head to look for his own partner with his half-opened eyes.

"Hey Cyberd-dramon!  Where'd ya go?"

"Hah!" Terriermon snorted.  "You called 'im a bird!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Well maybe I did, an' maybe 'e is a bird.  Ever think about that?"

"Maybe _I_ should go find Cyberdramon," Guilmon said as he got up to go looking.

"Man that dinosaur is such a mud in the stick," said Terriermon as he rolled onto his back.  "He _never_ wants to have fun!  Man, am I glad we ran into you."

"I'm glad this bar was here so we could toast our friendship."

"Toast sounds pretty good right about now."

"Moe-men-tie, Terriermon.  Moe-men-tie."

"No, no, no.  You're saying it all wrong.  It's mouten…mounen…mojo jai."

"Hah!"

Just about then, Guilmon reappeared with not only Cyberdramon but another companion, the large Guardian with yellow fringe on his robes: Malkis.

"Well isn't this a sight," Malkis remarked as he strolled up to where Terriermon and Ryo had collapsed.  "And Elena wonders why I question putting faith in humans."

"Hey!  I *hic* ain't no human!" Terriermon shouted.

"But you are, right Ryo?  Even with Guardian blood running through those veins, you are still undeniably, unfortunately human."

"And even with Guardian blood running through your veins, you're still a jerk."

Terriermon started laughing.

"Well if Tiresias proves right, I won't have to worry about you much longer."

"Yeah, but until then you just know I'm gonna' stick in your craw."

"I'll just keep this short then.  The attack begins in thirty days from the town of Kalu, southeast of here.  Be there if you want to keep up this fool's errand."

Ryo suddenly became quite clear-faced.  He rose unsteadily to his feet and his eyes were once again as clear as the sky.

"You can count on me," he said.  "We'll be leaving right away."

Ryo noticed a sudden cramp in his stomach.

"Er…right away after I pee."

"Do yourself a favor and stay here tonight, boy.  And try to keep your "partner" on his leash.  The last thing we need now is even more problems."

"I will have you know he's perfectly housebroken," Ryo said indignantly.

"Indeed.  Maybe I should be talking with him about keeping _you_ under lock and key instead of the other way around.  The only thing worse than an evil digimon is an uncontrolled human."

"He's not evil!  He's just tough."

"Look, human.  Over the years I've heard nothing but praise for you from every digimon you've happened upon.  I could dismiss Elena's words as mere pride, but from all other accounts you're decent as far as humans go.  But my own eyes tell me otherwise.  If you can't fix whatever's screwed up in that head of yours by the time of the battle, don't even bother showing up."

Malkis turned around and walked briskly away, leaving Guilmon and Cyberdramon to care for their intoxicated compatriots.  But for just a moment, Cyberdramon caught Ryo's gaze.  Something that Malkis had said had hit home.

Kandack had arrived in the western mining town of Granite Gulch.

"Laborers, craftsmon, and simple folk alike!  Hear me!" the white-bearded Guardian shouted from where he stood in the center of town.  "A darkness sweeps into this land from the south!  Entire cities are already emptied by it!  And you alone may yet stay its fury!"

The few digimon around did their best to ignore him and move along.

"Has apathy become so pervasive?  Do you not remember the reign of the Dark Masters?  The chaos of the D-Reaper?  The cruelty of Cherubimon?  Will you not stand up to prevent an even worse tide of darkness from sweeping through your very homes?"

Again he met with little response.

"Fools," he said under his breath.  "The call to arms is sounded and they do nothing… Hear me!  I am Lord Kandack the Historian, Guardian of the Crest of Reliability and voice of the great Sovereign Baihumon!  I approach you on the orders of the Sovereign Lord Omnimon to summon those both willing and able to bring the strength of all digimon against the enemies of life and autonomy!  Even at this moment, the Destroyer's demonic ilk spread their vile efforts across this land!  Snowy Ridge stands as a deserted wasteland, its every inhabitant disappeared!  Swarms of evil digimon raid the southern lands!  The darkness is upon your very doorsteps!  Will you stand by and do nothing?  Will you all wait for it to invite itself in?"

The streets had pretty much cleared of digimon.

"Perhaps the next town…" Kandack said in frustration.

"Hey, hang on," said a voice from behind.

Looking back, he saw two digimon walking toward him: a Gardromon and an Armadillomon.

"What is it?" Kandack asked, somewhat wary of these two.

"We're aiming to join up with yer posse," Armadillomon said with a smile.

"I'm afraid there's not much to join up with."

"No need to fear, Gardromon is here!"

"I ain't about to back down now," said Armadillomon.  "I still got enough fight left in me to handle a couple bad guys."

Kandack's expression, what could be seen of it behind his beard and under his hood, softened.  "I see now.  You must be the ones I've heard of."

"You say you have heard of us?" asked Gardromon.

"Of course.  The Gardromon who stood up against the unjust actions of Zhuqiaomon and the Armadillomon who helped save the east from MaloMyotismon."

"You hit the nail on the head," said Armadillomon.

"We are the digimon you describe."

"Then I'm in luck.  You are both more than welcome to join with us."

"So what exactly are you up to?" asked Armadillomon.  "What's the plan?"

"In short, the source behind the attacks of Yashamon and Mephismon lately is now known to us.  The Guardians plan to make a decisive assault against that source.  However, because of the creatures own strength and the strength of its army, we're gathering a strike force before the attack can be made.  Everyone who wants to help should meet in the south, a town called Kalu.  From there we can move on the Destroyer's stronghold.  It's a long trip though, and moving so many digimon so great a distance takes time.  We move in one month."

"Sounds like it'll be a tough mission," said Armadillomon.

"I understand if you would like to back out."

"Now did I say that?  Don't forget that I've saved this here world just as many times as you guys, and I don't care to see it go to pot now.  Besides, it sounds like a lot more fun than this mining stuff."

Kandack smiled.  "Great.  Will you be joining us, Gardromon?"

"Roger, roger!" Gardromon said with a salute.

"Destroyer!" a terrible voice shouted angrily into the beast's shadowy lair.

Mephismon stormed into Destroyer's den with a taste for blood.  His eyes immediately fell on two demons he was unfamiliar with kneeling before the Destroyer.

"What is it now, Mephismon?" the Destroyer's raspy voice asked in an irked tone.

"Do you know what happened in town?!  Did you see that in your crystal ball or whatever?!"

"You forget your place…"

"Oh I know my place, and it's—"

Mephismon was grabbed by one of the demonic tentacles that whipped around the out edges of the room and thrown over to the Destroyer.  Mephismon quickly rose to his feet, still visibly enraged.

"I've had—"

"SILENCE!" the Destroyer bellowed in such a voice that it shook the very rock on which they stood.  "You have failed me for the last time, child…"

The two other demons rose and backed away slightly, sneering at Mephismon.

"And to think you were beaten back so easily," said the first of the pair, LadyDevimon.

"Either of us would have put up a better fight," SkullSatamon said in that ghastly voice of his.

"You two have your own failures to reflect on," the Destroyer said in a rumbling tone.  "You are supposed to be the best of the best, the absolute elite, but I see you before me whimpering like freshly-hatched children!  You come to me weeping over your pitiful failures and flesh wounds!  Not one of you deserves to be a part of the Demon Corps!"

"But sire, we were simply outmatched!" said SkullSatamon.

"Please, my lord," LadyDevimon said with a low curtsy, "we did what we could with our weak bodies.  But that Justimon…he was unlike any foe we'd ever encountered."

"I know the one you speak of," said Mephismon.  "But I fought him as a Cyberdramon.  He is not to be underestimated."

"…Least of all when he has that _human_ with him," SkullSatamon said bitterly.

"At least we have an excuse, Mephismon," said LadyDevimon.  "What's yours?"

"The same as yours would be if you were in my place."

"Enough!" the Destroyer bellowed again.  "All these servants and you three are supposed to be the best!  You don't even deserve to stand in my sight!  Now feel what it's like to fail me!"

Once again the tendrils moved in.  One wound through SkullSatamon's ribcage and around his arms a few times and then wrapped up his neck before picking him off the ground.  He struggled but was no match for the Destroyer's strength.

"SkullSatamon!" LadyDevimon shrieked before she too was caught around the waste by a tendril.  The razor-sharp bones sliced into her body as they subdued her fierce struggling.

Mephismon braced himself for an attack, but the Destroyer overcame even him by reaching out with one of his claws and shoving his long, black fingers into Mephismon's chest and lifting him off the ground, with no small shout of pain from the satyr.  All three demons dangled helplessly in the air, writhing in agony.

"Hold on, chief…" said a voice from the darkness.

A figure with great black wings and armed with a massive gun stepped forward from the shadows.

"So what do you think, Beelzemon?" asked the Destroyer.  "Can you avoid making the same mistakes as these useless creatures?"

"Easily," Beelzemon said with a chuckle, his emerald eyes gleaming in the dim lighting.  "But don't you think they'd be more helpful alive?  You said it yourself, they won't fail you again.  What better way to make sure of that than to make them so strong that no one could lay a finger on 'em, save you and me of course?"

"I suppose it would save me the trouble of finding and shaping replacements…" the Destroyer snickered.  "My three little demons.  From this point on I will forgive no weakness, for any failure will be entirely the faults of your minds and not your bodies.  You will have your wish, Mephismon.  You shall all have your wish.  Use it well, for your lives depend upon it."

"Yes…lord…" the three tortured demons managed to squeak out.

The burning light around the Destroyer flared up.  His eyes glowed in the darkness like bonfires.

"_By will, by blood, by flesh and bone,_

_I bind thee to me._

_In these halls of ash and stone,_

_I chain ye three._

_Sprout horns, grow claws, clad yourselves in steel;_

_The dusk is now begun._

_From the souls of my foes you'll make a meal,_

_And this world will be undone…_"

Up the Destroyer's tendrils and claws ran snaking streams of flame.  They coursed over and through the three bodies he held and they were wracked with overwhelming power.  A large red crystal that hung around the Destroyer's neck began to glow and sent waves of energy into the three hapless demons.  The Destroyer dropped his servants all at once as soon as they began to change.  He let loose a wicked laugh.

"SkullSatamon digivolve to…!"

"LadyDevimon digivolve to…!"

"Mephismon digivolve to…!"


	27. Fragmented Memory

Back in the west, the day was running short.  A cloudless orange sky hung over a green forest far from the region's frigid mountains.  It was a very still that evening, without even a slight breeze.  The wildlife seemed aware of something out of place on that day.  Standing at the center of this forest was a great crystalline keep, its massive prismatic towers deflecting a full rainbow of colors across the surrounding woodlands.  This place, known commonly as the Forest Kingdom, was anxious.

"But what chance do we have?"

Voices echoed through the empty, crystal hallways.

"It's not going to get any better…"

There was an uninvited guest somewhere in the castle, drawing closer to the voices at a steady pace.

"We don't know enough about the situation yet…"

It was the same old conversation again with the same old arguments fought by newcomers to the arena.  The trouble brewing in the south was on everyone's lips, and news of the Destroyer's return had reached even here.

"The fact of that matter is, we don't know enough about anything," said MagnaAngemon, who sat at a triangular table opposite his two companions.

"Well we have to do something," Angewomon said despairingly.

"Of course we do," said Antylamon.  "But we can't afford to do the wrong thing."

"It's been the same ever since the D-Reaper appeared and Baihumon ran off," said Angewomon.  "Just look what happened back then."

"I'd really rather not think about that," Antylamon said in irritation.

"I'm certain that Omnimon will inform us of the situation as soon as possible," said MagnaAngemon.

"And if he's too late?" asked Antylamon.

"That's what we're here to discuss," MagnaAngemon said calmly.

"Well it's pretty clear that we need to bring the fight to this 'Destroyer' creature before it decides to come after us," said Angewomon.

"Strike 'im fast and hard," Antylamon added with a grin.

"You forget that we are not as powerful as we once were," MagnaAngemon said dourly.  "Both our physical might and our influence on the digimon of this world are shadows of their former glory."

"So you want us to try to get stronger while more of our cities are emptied?" Antylamon demanded angrily.  "That is not justice, MagnaAngemon."

"Antylamon, please," Angewomon scolded.  "Obviously we are not strong enough on our own and we cannot afford to delay in the conflict any longer.  What other options do we have?"

"Rally the people," said MagnaAngemon.

"Revive the Legendary Warriors?" suggested Antylamon.

"Or find new allies," said Angewomon.

"Allies are in short supply these days," MagnaAngemon said gravely.

"As is the allegiance of the digimon who live under us," Angewomon remarked.

"No doubt we are to blame for that," Antylamon added sullenly.

"The Legendary Warriors are not reliable enough for this situation," said MagnaAngemon.  "We can keep that in reserve, but for now we must have a concrete option."

"Back to allies," said Angewomon.

"Omnimon and the Guardians are even less reliable than the Warriors," said Antylamon.  "Our new Sovereign is still too young to rule, and the Guardians are too old."

"Standard military and police forces aren't up to a task like this," said MagnaAngemon.  "And peasants would be slaughtered."

"The Royal Knights—or what's left of them—cannot be trusted," said Angewomon.  "Besides, they are not exactly the elite force they once were."

"So where does that leave us?" asked Antylamon.  "Asking for help from other quadrants?  Or even worse, from humans?"

"I heard Zhuqiamon's Devas died long ago," said MagnaAngemon.  "Azulongmon's 'DigiDestined' have been out of the picture for nearly as long.  We are alone."

"There is still one option remaining," said Angewomon.  "The Angelic Order."

"Absolutely not!" said MagnaAngemon.

Antylamon was silent.

"I do not suggest it lightly," said Angewomon.  "But you said it yourself: allies are in short supply."

"I would sooner fight this whole war by myself than join with them," said MagnaAngemon.

"But why?"

"You know why.  We all know why.  Everyone in the quadrant knows why!"

"I'm sorry, Angewomon," said Antylamon.  "But I agree with MagnaAngemon on this.  I would sooner die than go to them."

"Why do you two find it so hard to believe that Lucemon is dead?"

"Because he was inside my mind," Antylamon said, rising angrily to his feet.  "You _never_ forget something like that.  Once he's inside you he owns you, and only then do you understand what he's really capable of.  Lucemon was a monster.  If the Legendary Warriors couldn't kill him the first time, what would make the second any different?"

"Honestly, you're both too stubborn for your own good!  The Lucemon of the Angelic Order is not the same one that terrorized our quadrant!  He exemplifies the spirit of righteousness and order in our world!  Never have I met a more peace-loving digimon."

"A Lucemon is a Lucemon is a Lucemon," Antylamon said just before he turned to walk away.

"Antylamon!" MagnaAngemon barked.  "We're not done here!"

At that moment, the uninvited guest made his appearance.  "Indeed we aren't," a figure in a beige robe said as he walked in through the door.

Antylamon stopped walking and all fell silent.

"It's you…" Angewomon said with a hint of awe.

"It is I," the sagely figure replied with a smile.

"Virgil…" said MagnaAngemon.  "We've been waiting to hear from you."

"Rather impatiently from the looks of it," Virgil replied as he walked forward at a slow pace.  "Of course patience, much like allies, is hard to come by lately."

"Master Virgil, I hope we didn't offend—" Angewomon began.

"Of course not.  Your words are merely a symptom of the apathy that's at the heart of the problem you speak against.  It's everywhere in these dark times.  This world teeters on the brink, and its people do nothing to stop the fall.  Even in the Guardians, a quiet mistrust can be found."

"It doesn't sound like you've come with good news," said Antylamon.

"We've found the Destroyer.  Lord Omnimon has ordered an attack."

"Well that's a relief," said Angewomon.

"Something tells me there's more," said MagnaAngemon.

Virgil smiled again.  "You are the perceptive one, MagnaAngemon.  Please, my friends.  Sit."

MagnaAngemon and Antylamon returned to their chairs, still visibly agitated.  Virgil continued to stand.

"I've seen it too many times to mistake it," Virgil began, "but I've never found the words to escape it.  Patience is the rarest virtue, and it is necessary for a leader.  But so many sorely lack it; you yourselves, Baihumon, and even Omnimon.  I've done my best, and Omnimon is indeed approaching this battle very cautiously.  That is to his credit.  However, I cannot help but feel he still acts rashly, and my words can do little to change his course."

"So you don't think that this attack is a good idea," Antylamon concluded.

Virgil sighed.  "We are at a most dire time.  Our actions now will have severe repercussions that will be felt for many years to come."

"I get it," said MagnaAngemon.  "On the one hand, you know that the Destroyer must be faced at maximum strength…"

"But at the same time you're worried if you're playing into his hands," Angewomon finished.

"Normally, I would try to wait until the solution became clear," said Virgil.  "But in this situation…"

"…Waiting could make us miss our opportunity," said Antylamon.

"Lord Omnimon has made his decision," said Virgil.  "I hope his impatience will be rewarded, but I must try to keep a balance.  I want you three to wait and do your best to prepare for a later fight with the Destroyer.  We cannot afford to put all of our hope into this one battle.  If we do and it should fail, then all would be lost."

"Who else have you spoken with about this?" asked MagnaAngemon.

"Only a few.  Lord Omnimon was hesitant, but he approved in the end.  One or two of the other Guardians know, but they remain quiet on the subject."

"So basically you want us to hold back and mount what forces we can," said Antylamon.

"Of course you don't have to follow my orders.  We Guardians have never been more than advisors.  You could join the army forming in the south if you wish.  But should you be inclined to listen to me, wait.  The day may come when you are our last hope."  Virgil backed away from the table and turned to leave.  "Do not give me your answer now.  And keep in mind that my words are simply advice, not inspired by predictions or prophesy."

As Virgil walked away, the Celestial Digimon looked at one another across the table in silence.

Day 38 

The stars were out in the clear night sky and the shining rays of light coming off the distant blue globe to the south were almost magical.  It was cold out, just like it was every night in the desert.  The terrain was flat in every direction, and the odd campfire could be seen on the horizon.  It was just like those nights all those years ago.

Ryo couldn't sleep.  In spite of the flannel blanket he had thrown around him he was still shivering.  The campfire was now at a slow burn and Terriermon and Guilmon were fast asleep, no doubt used to camping by now.  Cyberdramon was asleep too, but he'd always been a light sleeper and was fond of resting sitting up so he would be ready at a moment's notice.  Ryo was lying on his back with his duffel bag under his head.  He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed when a spark jumped onto his blanket.  He noticed it soon enough though and jumped up quickly to stomp the small flame out.

As soon as the momentary excitement had passed he saw that no one else had woken up.  A quick look at his foot confirmed a few singed hairs but no burns worse than if he'd stepped in hot coffee.  His blanket had a few scorch marks but was in fine shape for the most part.  Now more certain than ever that sleep was unattainable, he wrapped the blanket over his shoulders and got up for a walk.  He was still regretting the festivities he's shared earlier with Terriermon given his unsteady gait.

About twenty yards from the small camp his sat down again.  The cold sensation of the night returned to him and he shivered.  His thoughts drifted back to the old days, when he first came to the Digital World, when he'd fought against Millenniumon with Ken, when he and the other Tamers had joined against the D-Reaper, and of course when he first learned about his mother.  Those had been good times, for the most part.  Everything had turned out alright back then.  Things rarely did that anymore.

The old gang.  They sure had changed.  Well, some more than others.  First on his mind was Rika.  Ever since he'd first met her at the card tournament it was like she was yin to his yang, or rather yang to his yin depending on whom one asked.  She was still the take-charge type, still tough as nails, and still cute when she was angry.  Luckily for Ryo, no one could make her mad quite like he could.  She was beautiful too, no matter how she tried to hide it.  She was studying law on her mother's seemingly inexhaustible savings.  Beauty, brains, and a bank account; now there was a combination.

Ryo hadn't spoken to Takato in a little while.  In fact Takato had drifted away from everyone back in the old days.  It all began when he found a gateway to the Digital World but no one else wanted to go with him because it was just too dangerous.  Takato went on his own, but there was no life raft for him that time.  Luckily for him, Ryo returned to the Digital World a few months later and was able to save him.  He eventually moved away to a new city.  He had dreams of being a cartoonist, but for now he worked at his family's bakery.  Ryo was sorry to see his friend drift away like that.  He was a good guy.

Then there was Henry of course.  He was still around.  He was no stranger to working hard for attention growing up in a big family, and when he got to college he knew how to make an impression.  All that hard work seemed to be paying off for him these days.  Electrical engineering wasn't the most glorious job in the world, but Henry was the best no matter how modest he acted.  His little sister Suzie was growing up nicely, only vaguely recalling the events that happened so long ago.  But things weren't all rainbows and lollipops for Henry.  He seemed to get along with his father normally, but everyone knew that things still weren't patched up between the two of them completely.  Their relationship just hadn't been the same since the digimon had to leave.  No matter how right he knew his father was, Henry could never forgive him entirely.

Ryo smirked a little.  "I guess we have more in common than I thought."  His smile quickly faded and he raised his knees to rest his unshaven chin on them.

Kenta and Kazu.  What could you really say about them?  Completely normal guys.  They learned to cope with losing their partners just fine.  They had stayed friends through high school and college.  Kenta was always the smart one with the good grades.  Strangely enough, he decided to become a teacher somewhere along the line and was still in school to do just that; he was working as a T.A. for the time being.  Kazu played a lot of sports in high school but focused mainly on baseball in college.  He was on the team and played regularly, but he just wasn't good enough to go pro.  He was currently working in a casino at the blackjack tables; dealing, not gambling.  Something about the green visor and handling cards all day apparently seemed familiar to him.

Jeri was very surprising to say the least.  Her recovery after all that happened was no less than miraculous.  She was finally able to confront her inner demons and reconcile with her father.  She would always remember Leomon, but she never let it become a burden again, and she long-since forgave Impmon.  Nowadays, she spent a lot of time traveling.  She'd gone to an art school and majored in photography.  That translated into a profession working for a newspaper.  She seemed to enjoy the work, but often said she just wished she could spend a little more time with her family and friends.

"I bet she'll want a picture as soon as I can come home," Ryo said with a smile.  "I can see the headlines now: 'Man found after month-long disappearance!'  Of course it probably won't be like that this time.  I mean, every time I disappeared when I was a kid, everyone made a big fuss.  Now though, I'll be lucky to get a thirty-second spot between the weather and the commercial break."

It's funny how things change when you got older.  It seems you just fade away.  As a kid he was the Digimon King.  He was someone special.  Now though, no one noticed.  No one cared.  The same thing had happened to Mr. Yamaki.  He just kind of disappeared.  Probably put somewhere that he couldn't expose certain secret, illegal programs.  He was a good man at one time.  Hopefully he still was.

"It seems like so long since those days," Ryo said to himself.  "Just once, I'd like everyone to be back together again.  I don't know, just to catch up.  As soon as I'm home again, I'll make sure to arrange just that."

Ryo took a long pause and let out a cold sigh.  He hugged himself tight.

"…That is, if I ever do get home."

Ryo felt a presence behind him.  He turned quickly, but saw that it was only Cyberdramon.  He let out a small laugh.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not long," Cyberdramon growled.

"Well sit down.  Get comfortable."

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself… as always."

They were silent for a time, Ryo sitting and Cyberdramon standing, both just looking straight ahead over the empty wasteland.

"Cyberdramon?" Ryo finally asked.

"Yes?"

"We both know about your being Millenniumon once."

"Your point?"

"Well, can you… I mean, do you remember what it's like… to die?"

"No."

"Oh.  Are you sure?  I mean…"

"When I was Millenniumon, I escaped from death every time.  I didn't die, so I can't tell you what it's like."

"I see…"

There was another pause.

"You're afraid," said Cyberdramon.

"Sometimes.  But what's got me right now is what Tiresias said.  Should I have listened and gone home?"

"He didn't tell you to go home."

"Right, right.  He just told me what would happen if I stayed.  The thing is I don't know if I made the right choice.  Should I have gone home?"

Cyberdramon was silent.

"Yeah, I know.  I've got to solve my own problems.  This is one of those things I can't pass the buck on."

Cyberdramon remained mute.

"Well you're just a fountain of help tonight.  Okay, if I leave then I'll be safe but a whole lot of others might be in danger.  But if I stay, I could die, but I might save a lot of lives doing it.  That's a whole lot of maybes.

"You know why this all happened?  Because of some stupid fight with my dad.  Old bastard, he's so blinded by his anger that he tossed me out on my ass.  Well okay, so I left by choice, but still he didn't look too broken up about it.  I just can't believe how angry he is.  How can he still be trying to run my life?  Who's he to tell me what I can and can't do, who I can and can't see?  I don't care if he was a DigiDestined.  I don't care how he was hurt!  It doesn't make it right to hate everything about this place!  To hate my mom for trying to save it!

"And yet…I hated her for that too."  Ryo sunk.  "I hated her for years.  For almost nine years she was gone without a trace, and I hated her for it.  I hated my dad for resenting that I could get away to the Digital World.  I hated my whole life for being so wrong.  But when I got away from all that, I was happy.  When I was free I could be the person I really wanted to be.  When I wasn't hating I could be myself.  It was so good a feeling…so why can't I feel it now?"

Ryo furrowed his brow.  "You know, mom told me I never took the easy route.  I think she's right."  Ryo's eyes opened.  "So why am I doing what's easiest now?"

Cyberdramon gave an inquisitive look.

"I wanted the Digital World to be a place where I could come to run away from my problems.  That's what I've been trying to do all along.  But when I came here I just got a whole new set of problems dumped on top of me."  Ryo stood up.  "Dammit, Cyberdramon!  Why can't I be happy when I feel like it?  Why shouldn't I just let go of all that anger?  What does it matter anymore when I can be so much better, so much happier when I just forget about this stupid stuff that can be fixed if I'm just willing to take the challenge?  I don't want to die, not when I've still got to work things out with my dad.  But I'm not going to run from things here either.  It'll be a rough ride, but I can't feel right about myself unless I do everything in my power to set _everything_ right, in both worlds."  Ryo breathed easy and felt a tremendous burden lift off his shoulders.

"Cyberdramon, I'm sorry about how I've been acting.  I haven't been myself.  The moodiness, the drinking…it just wasn't right.  I'm going to do things the way I did back when I was a kid, back when I felt truly free, when I was really who I wanted to be.  Let's get the others up, there's a long day ahead of us and not a minute to spare!"

Cyberdramon saw Ryo's face then.  He saw a smile that he'd thought had vanished long ago.  It was a real smile, the kind of smile that only Ryo had.  His sky-blue eyes exerted excitement and determination at once.  His broad grin was as clear as the stars in the sky.  For the first time in what seemed like ages, Ryo truly felt like himself again.

It was late in the afternoon when the red-haired young man finally began to stir from his dreamless slumber.  It took him a few moments to realize he was on a bed indoors, and it took even longer to remember why.  The room was small and very plain.  The sheets were white, like the gauze wrapped over his injuries.  His whole body ached.  He could hear his bones creak as he tried to move.  The ceiling was a gritty, yellowed stucco that reflected the sunlight coming in through the window.  The door opened, but the young man didn't feel like looking.

"I see you're awake," an aged woman's voice said.

A middle-aged Hispanic woman with wavy gray hair and a calm expression appeared over him.

"…Huh?"

She reached down and inspected the dressings on his forehead.  "Well on the plus side you're doing better than I thought you would be," she said after a few seconds.

"How long…?"  His voice was very dry.

"Just a couple hours," she said as she checked his pulse.

"…I fell off a truck."

"Well that would certainly explain it.  Keep still."

He tried to shift his weight to a more comfortable position. "Ow!"

"I told you to keep still."

"Who are you?"

"I'm a doctor here in town.  Just about the only one actually.  You looked like you'd been walking for days when you were found."

"Only about one.  Can I get some water?"

"Sure.  Angelo!  Water!"

Angelo appeared a couple seconds later with a cup of water.  He looked to be in his mid-twenties, probably the doctor's son.  She took the cup; Angelo nodded to the young man and left again.

"Thanks."  He accepted the water and took a sip.

The doctor set about changing a bandage that was getting overused.  "Aren't you a little young to be out here alone?"

"I dunno.  It's not like I have much choice."

"Why's that?"

"I don't wanna talk ab—ow!"

"Grin and bear it."

He took another drink of water

"A little conversation might keep your mind off the pain."

"Ow!  Maybe you're—ooh—right."

"So what's your name?"

"My… name?"

"Yeah."

That was the second time someone had asked him that question.  He didn't know how to respond first time, and he certainly wasn't about to go through that again.  He knew he had a name, and even if he didn't he would need one eventually.  Now seemed as good as any, especially since the silence had dragged on a little long and it was getting uncomfortable.

"My name is…"

He reached deep into his memory, looking for something, anything, that could be his name.  Finally he picked something and took a stab at it.

"…Nari."

"Nari?  That's a new one to me.  Is it short for something?"

"Uh… sure."

"Oh?  For what?"

He had to keep his mind off the stabbing pain.  He need to keep his mind focused.

"Nari… us."

"Narias?"

"Uh, yeah.  Narias."

"Interesting.  Sounds very… robust."

He smiled.  "I like it."  And he did.  It was his name.  His very own name.  He felt somehow more complete.  No matter what happened to him from then on, he would always have a name, an identity, and no one could take that away from him.

"Ouch!"

"Did that hurt?"

Narias looked down.  She was probing at his leg with her fingers.

"Yeah," he said, still clearly in pain.  Old injury right there."

"Well," she said as she ceased her investigation.  "You look like you're improving a little.  Most of these are just superficial wounds and I stitched up the one's that went deeper.  You should be on your feet in a couple days."

"Look, I… I can't exactly pay you."

"No offense kid, but I could tell that much from the moment I saw you.  If all I was interested in was money you'd still be out there on the street.  But if it makes you feel any better, you could help out around here for a little while once you're better."

"…Thanks."

"Get some rest."  The doctor made a move to leave.

"Hey, doc?"

"Yes, Narias?"

"Does this situation feel… familiar?"

"Familiar how?"

"Like we've already done this before?"

"Déjà vu?  I probably just remind you of someone.  Now get some rest."

And just like that she left, and Narias was alone again.  He saw his yellow eyes in his cup of water just before he finished it off.

"An old injury…" he repeated to himself.  "But how did I get it?"

All he could remember about the wound was that he'd gotten it in his dream.  But that didn't make sense.  How could he be hurt by a dream?  No, there was something missing.  Maybe his dreams were memories.  But that couldn't be right either.  He may not have been entirely certain of who he was, but at the very least he knew he was human.  The thought of a whole world of monsters actually creeped him out a little.  But of course something like that couldn't exist.  It was just absurd.  Laughable.

But still… where did that old scar on his leg come from?  His memories, what he had of them, were such a chaotic jumble while his dreams were relatively ordered but completely unbelievable.  What could he do?

"Okay," he said, sitting up and forgetting about the wave of pain for the time being.  "This is bugging me and I need an answer, I need to know who I am.  So what do I know about myself?"

He thought about it for a minute.

"Come on, this can't be too hard.  Alright, I'll start with the basics.  I know what all these things in the room are called, and from that I know how to speak English.  I know where English comes from and what country I'm in now, so I know countries and how the Earth is split up; I know geography.  I know Earth is a planet and there are eight others in this solar system.  I know that this solar system is part of a galaxy, which is part of the universe; I know how the universe is structured."

He thought about it for a few more seconds.

"I know I'm in pain because I'm injured, I know I'm injured because I fell off a truck, I know I fell off a truck because…"

He paused and thought of it for a couple minutes, replaying the events of the previous day in his head.

"Why did I fall off that truck?  I thought I saw something… explosions.  But then I blacked out and the next thing I knew I was rolling along the highway.  Alright, I know that the explosions didn't happen because when I woke up I didn't see any evidence that there were any explosions.  I must have been hallucinating."

He paused again.

"…That is, assuming what I remember is accurate, and that explosions do leave evidence after the fact.  But how can I be sure they do?"

Narias was at an impasse.  He remained deep in thought on the matter before finally turning away from it.

"Okay, let's try this again.  I know… I know I am human because I look like other humans.  I've been called human.  Wait, who ever called me human?  Do I just know that I'm human because of what the word means?"

Yet another pause ensued.

"Did Amadeus call me human?"  He thought about it.  "I don't remember.  Even if I did, I can't trust those memories; they don't make sense.  But then again, how can I trust what I'm experiencing right now?"

He'd come to another impasse, but he did his best to try to fight through this one.

"Okay, that time on the bridge in Japan.  I know I was in Japan, or at least I think I was.  I talked to the woman in Japanese.  So… if I can speak Japanese, that memory is reliable."

He thought about it for a moment.  He looked around the room, identifying objects in his head, first in English and then in Japanese.

"I can.  But just because I can speak Japanese isn't proof that what I remember actually happened.  If I knew that memory was true then I could of course conclude that I can speak Japanese, but it doesn't work the other way around.

"So how did I learn all of this?  Who taught me what I know?  Is any of this actually reliable?  Can I really put trust in anything that happened more than a couple seconds ago?"

He mulled over that for a few seconds.

"Yes.  If I can't even trust my own memories then I can't ever move forward.  I'll also have to accept that what I think is true actually is true unless I can prove otherwise."

He seemed satisfied with the conclusion he had reached.  A smile crossed his face, but only for a moment.

"Now then," he said, once again serious.  "Here's the big one.  Who am I?"

It seemed that Narias had found something to do while he recuperated.  For the first time in what little memory he had of himself, he had the chance to sit down and really think about the issues that had been plaguing him for as long as he could remember.  He wasn't the scared little boy any more.  He didn't have to be.  Now he was ready to confront himself.


	28. Turncoats

[Well, well.  It sure took me long enough to update, didn't it?  I'd really like to apologize, but there's not point in making excuses when what you're really here to read is the story, right?  I'll just say I'm sorry I took so long to update and I hope it didn't cost me too many readers.]

Kari nudged the bedroom door open and stepped inside.  The sunlight coming through the open window was very bright that hot spring day.  Stepping inside, she set down the cardboard box she was carrying and let out a sigh of relief.  She wiped the sweat from her brow and sat down on the box to take a moment's rest while perusing the piled boxes and assorted furniture around her.  The door swung open again and there stood a man with a very large box concealing his face and chest.

"Little help?" he squeaked as his knees began to buckle.

Kari shot up to her feet of course and ran over to help him with the box.  Together they placed it in the middle of the floor.

"Are you okay, Davis?" she asked.

Davis was bent over, wheezing and sweating.  "No p-p-problem."  He coughed and then bent back to fix his spine with an audible crack.  "Man, what's in there?" he finally asked.

"Those are just my books," Kari explained.

Davis gave her an odd look with one eyebrow raised and his mouth slightly opened as if he was about to ask a question.  Apparently he changed his mind at the last second though.  "Well I hope there's not too much more."  He wiped his face on his shirt sleeve.  "It's looking pretty crowded in here as it is."

"I know; it's smaller than I remembered," Kari noted.

There was a knock at the open door and the two of them looked over.  There was Kari's mother with a tray of ice-tea.  "I thought you kids might like a drink."

"Thanks, mom," said Kari.

"Yeah, thanks!" Davis said with a smile, eagerly taking the glasses.

"It's not a problem.  And it really is nice seeing you again, Davis.  Such a handsome young man!"  She smiled and turned to go.  She was always a sweet woman, and even though she couldn't cook a potato without a cookbook her ice-tea was always a hit.  She was starting to show her age though, as was her husband.  Kari sighed.  The last thing she wanted to be doing at this point in her life it was moving back in with her parents.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Davis said once he spotted her expression.  "It's only going to be for a little while.  You're bound to find someplace else soon, even if you do need a few roommates."

Kari rolled her eyes.  "At this point I'd settle for sharing a janitor's closet with an angry badger.  Are you sure I can't stay with you?"

Davis laughed.  "Are you kidding?  There's barely enough room for my stuff.  Plus I'm getting really sick of sleeping on that couch."  He cracked his spine again.

Kari smiled.  "Yeah, yeah.  I know…"

"Plus, I don't think having you in my bed every night is helping me get over you any faster."  Davis chuckled.

Kari smiled back at him.  She was actually really surprised that he was able to joke like that.  No matter what he said, she knew that her staying with him had helped them both a lot.  She sipped her tea as she thought.  "This tea is pretty good."

"No kidding," Davis said as he sat the empty glass down on a box and wiped his mouth.

"Kari?" Mrs. Kamiya called from the living room.  "Could you come out here and give your father a hand?"

Kari sighed and started to set her drink down when Davis jumped to his feet.  "Don't worry, I'm on top of it.  You take a breather."  Before she could respond he'd dashed back out the door.

Kari smiled and leaned back to enjoy her drink for a few seconds longer.  Now, it wasn't that she didn't want to go help her father, but she couldn't exactly tell Davis no.  Very few people ever could, after all.  A few seconds later the door was bumped open again, this time with a large box carried by two men: Davis and Mr. Kamiya.  Both were sweating from the heavy lifting and the general heat, and Davis had taken his shirt off.  They struggled under the box's weight as they slowly made their way to where there was still an empty spot on the floor.  They finally managed to set it down with a collective grunt.

"What on Earth did you have in there, honey?" Mr. Kamiya asked with a wiped look.

"Well it couldn't be books," said Davis.  "I already brought those in myself."

Kari looked away.  "Actually… those are my…other…books."

The men looked stunned for a second, and then Davis laughed.  Kari smiled back.

"Kari, I swear you're worse than your brother," Mr. Kamiya said with a grin.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I saw your mother fixing up some of that delicious ice-tea of hers."  He was rubbing his back as he walked out.

Davis took his seat again.  "Mind if I rest up a minute?"

"Go right ahead," she said.  "And don't worry, you won't have to help me unpack all this stuff."

"Hey, what else have I got to do?"

"Don't you have a job interview?"

"It's not for a few hours."

"Well don't forget you'll need time to shower beforehand.  You don't want to go in there smelling like that."

"What's wrong with how I smell?" he asked playfully.

"You stink!  What do you expect?"

"Hey, c'mon."  Davis leaned in with a smirk.  "I don't think I stink that bad."

"Ew!  Get away!"  Kari laughed as she tried to shove Davis back.  He laughed too as he fell, but he got right back up again.  Kari laughed louder while rising to her feet to escape, but Davis came after her and wrapped her up in a big hug.  They were both laughing hysterically as Kari tried to push Davis off and both of them ended up tripping over the piled boxes.

Davis wiped a tear from his eye as he rose back up and Kari stayed on the boxes, finally starting to control her laughter.  Davis offered her a hand and she took it.  He pulled her up to her feet with surprising strength.

"I couldn't be the only one that smells like work," Davis grinned.  "I don't want everyone to think you've just been sitting around all day."

"I guess we'll both need showers now," Kari said with a big smile.  "By the looks of it you're all rested up now; why don't you go grab some more boxes?"

"Oh man!" Davis said with no real malice.

"Don't worry, I'll be right down."

"Meet you there."

Davis turned around to go and at that moment Kari realized something strange had happened.  She'd just spent several minutes talking to Davis' bare chest instead of his face.  That wasn't like her at all.  She could have written it off as nothing if it weren't for what she was doing even at that moment: watching his butt as he left the room.

"Oh my God…" she said once she was alone again.

It was high noon in the southern quadrant.  The sun's rays beat down mercilessly on the mountainside town of Stonewall, a small village built on the face of a sheer cliff of gray stone.  There was more greenery in this area than there was further to the south where the Great Driver Wastes lay, but at this time of day the high cliffs provided little protection from the heat.  But even in such oppressive weather, the town was more active than it had been in years, possibly decades.  Hundreds of digimon had passed through this tiny hub on their way south.  Even at that very moment there were dozens of extra inhabitants of the town, some arriving, some departing, some following the crowds with whatever they could find to sell.

"Pardon me, but do you have any clean water?"

The shady little diner, one of the few places to eat in town, was packed.  That question had come from a Tentomon on the counter.  The Agumon behind the counter was busy cleaning a glass.

"Sure thing, chief.  I gotta' warn ya' though, even the water ain't so cheap anymore 'round here."

"It's all right I assure you.  My travel expenses are covered."

"Suit yerself boss."  The Agumon wiped the glass dry on his apron.  He set it aside and poured the ice-cold drink.  Tentomon reached into his satchel pack and dished out the cash.

"So why're you here?" the Agumon asked as he got up on a wooden crate to hand Tentomon his water over the counter.  "Ya' don't strike me as much of the fightin' type."

"Honestly, I'm not.  I've been sent down here on assignment to cover what's happening.  I work for a newspaper you see, and of course they had to send _someone_ down here.  Nobody wanted to take this job though and I ended up getting stuck with it."

"Tough break, cap'n."

"I don't know, maybe it's not so bad.  I mean, as long as I stay away from the heat I won't get burned, right?  It's not like I've never seen combat before, but to be honest I get sick thinking about going through that sort of thing again."

"So ya' think it'll be bad then?"

"It's really quite difficult to say.  Even my newspaper has had a lot of trouble getting much information on just what is happening.  Everyone seems to have their own reason for coming down here, so it's hard to tell how all this started.  All we've got are a few sketchy details on roving bands of bad digimon, cities being wiped off the map, and orders from Omnimon."

"No kiddin'.  If I'd served a drink for every different story I'd heard since all this started…oh wait, I guess I have!  Ha!"

Tentomon chuckled a bit.  "So I take it this has been helpful for business?"

"Are you kiddin' me, chief?  There's a river of money runnin' through this town, and as a merchant I have to scoop up what money I can before it rolls right on past."

"Intriguing.  I think that could make for a good article on the effect this mess is having.  I bet I could get down a rough draft before I have to move out again."

"Whatever you say boss, just be sure to mention the name of this place.  A little free advertising never hurt no one."

"You know, if you really want your place mentioned, you might consider giving me another water at no charge."

Agumon looked at him for a second.  "You're a sneaky one, chief.  But it sounds like a good enough deal to me.  You're on."

Agumon went to get a second glass of water.

"Hey what's going on?" a Gotsumon asked as he looked out the window.

"Beats me," said his friend, another Gotsumon.

Tentomon turned to see what they were checking out.  At first he couldn't see anything, but it looked like there was more activity than normal down where a lot of the traveling digimon were coming and going.

"That's weird," the first Gotsumon commented.  "What are those things?"

"I've never seen digimon like those before."

Tentomon's interest was really piqued now.  He looked out the window more intently than before.

"Here's yer water, boss.  Now, about that—"

"Does that seem strange to you?" asked Tentomon, motioning with his claw.

"Hmm… Does look a bit busier than before."

Suddenly several of the digimon in the crowd were tossed high into the air and the crowd went into a flurry.  The strange digimon the Gotsumon had commented on began charging through the crowd, tossing or trampling anyone that got in their way.

"What the hell…?"

"Stay here!" Tentomon ordered.  He hopped off his stool and flew out the door.  Now outside, he could hear the sounds of battle quite clearly.  The crowd was in an uproar, too disorganized to fight off the strange, low-bodied digimon that had attacked.  Tentomon quickly landed and reached into his satchel.  He pulled out a small, thick book and began flipping through its pages rapidly, looking up sporadically to try to get a better view of the attacking digimon.

"Okay," he said to himself.  "They're quadrupeds with…red skin and…yellow stripes.  Low profile."  He flipped through the book faster.  "Some kind of large metal or bone mask with horns.   What looks like blue tusks and…a green furry tail."  He finally found what he was looking for in his book.  At the top of the page was a picture of the digimon, and the words below it identified them as Setmon.  They were armor digimon with compact bodies and nasty attitudes.  Difficult to attack from the front because of the excellent defense of their masks and their powerful charges.  Fortunately for Tentomon, they weren't too bright.  He returned the book to his bag and slipped it off his shoulder.  "Tentomon, digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"

The crowd was in a state of panic.  Everyone was too busy trying to get out of the way to fight back.  The Setmon just kept on charging, occasionally drilling their tusks into a fleeing victim while stepping on someone else's head with their heavy feet.  Some chose to dash into a group, thrash around a bit and then pounce on someone trying to get away.  Just as one of the Setmon was leaping through the air toward a terrified Mamemon, Kabuterimon laid him out with a strong kick straight down onto his back.  The Setmon staggered back to his feet a moment later and shook his head like a dog.  He spotted Kabuterimon in front of him and snarled.  Kabuterimon landed while the digimon around him were finally able to move away.  The Setmon charged and Kabuterimon braced himself for impact.  As the Setmon sailed toward him, Kabuterimon raised all four hands up, catching onto the beast at the last second.  Still, the Setmon's inertia was too much for Kabuterimon to resist and he and the Setmon were both sent tumbling back over several fleeing digimon before finally coming to a stop on the ground outside the crowd.  Kabuterimon found himself on his back at the end of that last roll with the Setmon on top of him, fighting tooth-and-nail against Kabuterimon's iron grip.  It clawed, twisted and bucked in every possible way it could to break Kabuterimon's hold, which was unfortunately starting to weaken.  He couldn't exactly use his Electro-Shocker at the moment, all his hands were busy and his wings were pinned beneath him.  Kabuterimon took the last option left to him.  He pulled back his head as far as he could and then slammed his tough horn forward right onto the Setmon's forehead.  The creature stopped fighting back and Kabuterimon loosened his grip.  The Setmon stumbled back for a few seconds before collapsing with a grunt.

At that moment the three remaining Setmon all turned their attention away from the carnage and focused their small, yellow eyes on Kabuterimon alone.  They charged Kabuterimon with a collective roar.  He immediately rose to his feet and employed his Electro-Shocker, firing at the middle one.  The creature lowered its head and Kabuterimon's attack merely grazed off its sturdy helmet.  With only a few seconds before they were all over him, Kabuterimon did the only thing he could think of: he zipped straight up into the sky.  The Setomon all skidded to a halt below him, trying to jump up, gnashing their teeth and pawing the ground.

"Ha!" Kabuterimon laughed.  "You can't fight what you can't catch!"

"Corona Blaster!"

"Wha—"

Before Kabuterimon could even turn to see where the voice had come from a powerful attack hit him right in the center of his back and shoved him forward so hard that he hit and skidded along the ground, leaving a trail of dirt and crushed rock behind him.  Above, a humanoid digimon with great black wings sneered.  Beating his wings slower, he gradually descended to the ground.  As soon as his steel-toed boots touched the gray rock he folded his black-feathered wings behind him.  With his black leather outfit, purple mask, three green eyes and fearsomely-large gun, it was immediately apparent that he was no ordinary digimon.  The three Setmon ran to him, standing around him as if awaiting his command.  The crowd of digimon quieted and formed a large circle, giving the newcomer plenty of room.

"Listen up!" he shouted.  "Da name's Beelzemon, and I got a message fer you measly mooks!  Da boss knows what's up here!  He knows what yer plannin', and he ain't got no problem with it!  If you all get together and attack, you'll just die that much quicker.  Run away and he'll get ya eventually.  Your choice."

"Just who do you think you are?!" a Garurumon in the crowd demanded.

Beelzemon scowled and raised his gun.  "Corona Blaster!" He fired, hitting the Garurumon right between the eyes.  It fell over backwards with serious burns all over its face.  "I'm yer worst nightmare."

"Doesn't sound like much of an ultimatum, Beelzemon," Kabuterimon said as he rose to his feet again.

"It ain't," Beelzemon replied with a sneer.  "It's a warning."

"How thoughtful."

"Well I got a warning for you," a Triceramon said as he stepped forward.  "Don't underestimate us!  Charge!"

The Triceramon took aim with his horns and lunged while the dozens of other digimon all let loose with their own attacks.  Beelzemon only smiled as he lifted his weapon again, this time tracing out a large glowing pentagram in the air in front of him.  He finished quickly and a glowing design radiated out from the central figure.  At that moment the attacks began slamming into the pentagram, only to be absorbed by it.  Beelzemon then raised his weapon again, aiming right for the oncoming Triceramon even as attacks continued to rain down on his strange shield.  "Corona Destroyer!"

Kabuterimon saw the whole thing.  He saw Beelzemon's whole body tense up, his wings go taut, his grin spread into a maniacally gleeful smile, and his fingers squeeze the trigger.  The dark bolt of energy discharged from his gun and went into the pentagram, which glowed and then amplified the attack thousands of times over.  It was all Kabuterimon could do to dive out of the way before the immense pillar of light discharged from the pentagram and swallowed up everything in its path.  He tried to lay low and keep his head covered, but there was no escape from the overpowering heat and the haunting light.  The Triceramon, the Garurumon, and almost every last digimon in the crowd with the exception of a few that had escaped like Kabuterimon were all slaughtered.

A few seconds later as the light died down, Kabuterimon began to hear another sound: the sound of laughter.  It was Beelzemon, laughing so hard it brought tears to his eyes.  The Setmon behind him were likewise chuckling like hyenas.  Kabuterimon, even in his dazed state, could see Beelzemon drawing in data like a magnet.  The path of devastation went on for miles; the attack had annihilated everything in its way, everything.

"They made their choice," Beelzemon said as he finally calmed himself.  "I wonder what the others will choose.  Boys!"  The Setmon looked up.  "Home!"  The three Setmon quickly turned and started to run to the south.  "Make yer peace today, 'cause I'll have yer heads tomorrow."

He spread his black wings and with one motion leapt high into the air.  He was gone just as suddenly as he'd arrived.  Beelzemon was finally what he wanted to be: powerful, feared, and without a shred of hesitation, doubt or mercy.

Lucemon's eyes opened.  "Come in, children," he said calmly.

Angemon and Angewomon entered into Lucemon's chamber.  Angewomon was quite impressed, and even Angemon still held onto some of the awe of seeing the inner sanctum.  "You called for us?" Angemon finally asked.

"Yes."

"What is it?" asked Angewomon.  "Has something happened?  Is it time to make our move?"

"Thou art too hasty, child.  All is still being prepared."

"Then what is it?"

"I fear many lives were just now lost among those that would resist the Destroyer."

"What?" asked Angemon.

"What happened?" Angewomon asked.

"An attack by one of those in his Demon Corps.  Many lives were lost."

"Only one?" asked Angewomon.  "If just one can do such a thing…"

"Thy concerns are well-founded.  Alack, I fear this is only a sign of what is to come.  I have felt a shift in the beast's power; already three of his ilk have moved on to other parts of the Digital World, expanding the Destroyer's territory greatly.  This evil is no longer contained.  Soon it may devour everything it doth touch."

"So instead of just one seat of power to go after there's four?!" asked Angemon.

"The problem is indeed multiplied, but the foremost objective must be the removal of the serpent's head, without which the body must die."

"But now it's not just the Destroyer.  If this other demon stays close to him we'll have all the more trouble."

"What thou say'st is only possible, not inevitable.  The Destroyer is a seasoned veteran of centuries of battles; he shall keep his least trustworthy servants at arm's length."

"So you think this demon might not be as loyal to his master as we think?"

"All demon digimon are loyal to him—it is in their very blood—but even the strongest bonds are not unbreakable.  Thou may'st recall that the Destroyer himself was once bound to Protomon heart and soul when he was Seraphimon, yet even that was shattered.  The demon of which we speak is particularly open to becoming free of that bond, but it will still be very difficult."

"It's better than nothing," said Angemon.  "Still, there's no telling what else the Destroyer will have defending him when we go to fight."

"Don't forget we'll have a few strong allies ourselves," said Angewomon.  "Omnimon, the old gang, and of course Lucemon here."

"And thus do we come to the next matter at hand," said Lucemon.

Angemon and Angewomon gave him an inquisitive look.

"Since learning of the dangers lurking in the south, many of my children here hath spoken of going to face it themselves.  It is precisely because of what has happened just now that I have sought so hard to keep them here.  Even the strongest here, like Goldramon, have approached with the desire to travel to the creature's lair, to stand by my side in the battle.  I have convinced all to remain in this sanctuary, save one."

"Who?" asked Angewomon.

"Dost thou remember when I told thee of the Destroyer's history?  How he was once a great soldier of Protomon?"

"Of course," said Angemon.

"He was made evil by his hatred, but it is the way of this world to maintain a harmony between the light and the dark, the good and the evil.  As the Destroyer was once of the light and reborn in the shadows, another was forged in the darkness and only later purified in Protomon's light.  He was the Destroyer's opposite, the yin to his yang.  His stubbornness will keep him strong against any attempts of persuasion, even by me.  Thus, he is resolved to face the Destroyer's legions at my side."

"That I shall," a booming voice called out from the far side of the room.

All three angels turned to look at the speaker.  Lucemon remained as calm as ever, but Angemon and Angewomon were filled with awe at the sight of this strange digimon.  He was humanoid, stood over ten feet high and was some kind of angel digimon, but unlike any other they'd ever seen.  His single pair of wings were made from chrome-digizoid and the feathers were long and blade-like.  He wore chrome digizoid plate armor over his chest and shoulders.  His lower torso, his neck and his upper arms were protected by tightly-wrapped leather belts with a row of buckles running down his stomach. throat and each arm.  Below the waist he wore a pair of very baggy, light-gray pants with a blue bolt of cloth hanging down both in front and in back.  It came to a triangular point at both ends and was embroidered with gold designs.  Just above his feet were more buckles leading down to a pair of black shoes with a splash of red on top and blades jutting from the heel and sides.  By far the most unusual feature of this digimon were his arms.  Below the elbow his arms were huge metal blades with strips of blue paint on the broad sides, again decorated with gold.  With his arms hanging like that, the slightly-curved blades very nearly touched the floor.  He showed about as much of his face as most angel digimon; only his chin and mouth were visible with the rest being covered by a chrome-digizoid helmet.  There was a narrow slit across the helmet for him to see through, and topping off the helmet was a horn-like blade coming from the forehead.  The digimon's spiked blue hair could be seen coming out the back of his helmet.

"I am GuardiAngemon, the steel saint," he announced in a loud, clear voice.  "You may rest assured that I always have been and forever shall be prepared to strike at the beast whenever it crawls out from under its rock."

"GuardiAngemon is nearly as old as I," Lucemon explained.  "It was when he was reborn as a digimon of light that he did take it upon himself to hunt down digimon that had been corrupted, the Destroyer in particular."

"I have always preferred to think of it as releasing them from their curse, my lord."

"GuardiAngemon, thou hast been my protector and compatriot since before this city was even founded.  Thine eyes hath borne witness to the ebb and flow of the powers that be in this world.  Thou truly art stubborn, if thou dost still believe any good may come from killing."

"And you are no less stubborn for always holding to your pacifism, lord.  It may have been ages ago that I was consumed by an evil spirit, but I can remember precisely how it felt.  I know from experience that 'tis better to embrace death than evil.  At least there are young digimon like them that have the will and means to fight when they are most needed."

"Mine will to fight should be obvious, and mine will to kill is equally strong but oppositely oriented.  My purpose is the preservation of all things, life being the foremost."

"Fighting and death are no more separable than life and death!  Life must invariably come to death, and thus if you think your purpose is to preserve life then your purpose is futile!"

There was a moment of silence.  Finally, Lucemon smiled just a little bit.  "I have always enjoyed thy company, GuardiAngemon.  Thy wit remains as sharp as thy tongue."

"I can only hope my blades are half as sharp," GuardiAngemon replied with a grin.

"Angemon.  Angewomon.  Thou shouldst place as much faith in him as thou hast in me.  We four shall depart together in one fortnight.  Learn whatever Goldramon may teach thee in that short time.  Now go, children.  I must speak a moment longer with GuardiAngemon."

"Yes, Lord Lucemon," Angemon and Angewomon replied together before turning quickly and leaving.

"Now…" Lucemon said as he again turned to GuardiAngemon.  "What dost thou make of this new demon in the Destroyer's service?"

"Of course I make it my business to keep an eye on all powerful digimon, my lord," GuardiAngemon replied formally.  "He first came to my attention some years ago when he was inducted into the service of Zhuqiamon.  Before that he was unsuccessfully paired with humans in the southern Earth and after his service to the Sovereign ended he played a significant role in combating the D-Reaper on that same Earth.  Since then he has spent most of the decade as an aimless drifter, almost universally feared."

"So dost thou believe the Destroyer's influence is entirely to blame for his new status?"

"Hardly.  Even while serving Zhuqiamon he was extremely dangerous and cruel, taking the lives of almost any digimon he came in contact with, including two of the Devas.  Prior to that his destructive potential was greatly handicapped by his weak form, but he still reportedly demonstrated extremely hostile tendencies.  I believe the predispositions of his demonic form coupled with his own sinister propensities made the job an easy one for the Destroyer.  No more than a slight nudge would have been needed to push this 'Beelzemon' into working directly for him.  And we must not forget the innate influence the Destroyer is said to have over all demon digimon."

"Well-spoken.  Can he be saved?"

"To be honest, I would not be surprised to learn that Beelzemon volunteered to join the Destroyer."

"And thou must hunt him down?"

"He may not have been a saint, but he was not truly evil.  That is different now, and so it is my duty to put a stop to him.  I will not apologize for doing the right thing."

"And if he can still be turned back?"

"I assure you, that is too much to hope for."

"I see."

"Anything more, lord?"

"Only this: remember that Beelzemon will not be the greatest threat for us to face.  Do not place yourself in jeopardy by fighting him while the Destroyer is yet to be slain."

"I understand."

"Then please, leave me for now.  I am growing weary."

GuardiAngemon nodded and walked toward the exit.  When he left the chamber and found the doors closing behind him, he saw Angemon and Angemon, apparently waiting.

"Yes?" he asked.

"That wasn't much of an introduction back there," Angemon explained, "so we figured we'd introduce ourselves personally."  Angemon extended his hand, but quickly pulled it back when he remembered that GuardiAngemon was shorthanded, so to speak.

"I'm Angewomon and this is Angemon.  We come from the east and we were once DigiDestined digimon.  I'm not sure what you've heard about us, but—"

"I don't need to hear your résumé," said GuardiAngemon.  "Lord Lucemon has already told me who you are, just as he told you who I am.  I appreciate your courtesy, but there really are more important things you could be doing with your time."

GuardiAngemon bowed slightly and Angewomon repeated the motion.  GuardiAngemon then turned his gaze to Angemon.

"You don't trust me," GuardiAngemon sent rather bluntly.

"What?" asked Angemon.

"I can see it."

"Well if you're going to press it, then no.  I just met you, and if I'm going to fight alongside someone I want to know them well enough first to trust them."

"There's more to it than that.  You don't trust a turncoat.  I can't blame you for that though.  I am fully aware of the paradox in my dedicating my life to killing traitors like the Destroyer when I myself am a traitor to the other side.  If I were you I wouldn't trust me either."

"I've always believed actions speak louder than words," said Angemon.  "Your siding with the good guys rather than digimon like the Destroyer gives me some hope, but I'll only trust you when I see you fighting the Destroyer at my side."

"Likewise."

It hadn't been the best introduction in history, and the circumstances of this meeting hadn't exactly helped.  Still, it seemed that while there was a powerful new enemy to look out for, there was a powerful new ally to rely upon.


	29. Purpose

**Day 43**

It was a cold morning. The sun had yet to rise over the eastern hills and the land remained dark, though the sky had turned a fearsome red. A fell wind blew in from the north, carrying the dust of the wasteland with it. The grim smell of ash hung in the air in the small town of Kalu. There hadn't been much time to clean the town up after the attack over a week before. The slopes of Mount Kalu in the south remained as black as the night, creating an ominous silhouette against the blood-red sky.

The town had not slept all night, and with the recent influx of digimon, that was unlikely to change. Even at this hour of the morning, digimon walked the streets, most of them on guard duty to make sure there were no more surprise attacks. Some wore sheets around their heads to keep out the frigid air and abrasive winds. Even those that lived indoors were awake more often than at rest. A slightly damaged hotel served as kind of barracks for the arriving digimon, but it was already nearing capacity. This hotel was also where a long-overdue meeting was taking place.

"It seems we're all finally here," said Malkis. "It's about time."

The nine Guardians had assembled once again in a small guestroom. Elena and Minari sat on one bed while Shin reclined on the other, tossing a rock to himself. Tiresias sat on a chair, leaning forward on a walking stick while Loki stood behind him, looking out the window facing north. Malkis stood in the center of the room while Kandack stood in a corner near the beds. Virgil stood in the shadows behind Malkis and as for Gennai, he had just entered. He closed the door behind him and approached, his hands folded.

"It only matters that we're here now," said Gennai. "There is no time for regrets at this late stage."

"Now we must decide on our next move," said Loki.

"What about Lord Omnimon?" asked Shin.

"He arrived late last night," Elena replied, "but I'm afraid he has said very little. I believe he is looking to those who will be fighting this battle."

Gennai removed his hood; his blue eyes were colder than normal and his mouth was stern. "We passed the point of this being a battle some time ago. What we are preparing for now is a full-blown war."

There was a moment of silence. Then Elena stood up. She too slipped off her hood. Her cinnamon hair seemed dry and flaccid; her normally youthful skin seemed strained. "Gennai is right. We have to remember that whether we win or lose here, there will be more battles to face."

"Not if we can put an end to the Destroyer's reign in one massive show of force," Shin pointed out.

"Even _if_ we win, that outcome is unlikely," said Tiresias. "No good will come of this…"

"Oh guide us, great fortune teller," Malkis said with a bow, "whatever shall befall us in this battle?"

"What is the matter with you?" asked Gennai. "I think we have enough problems without turning on one another."

Malkis removed his hood as well. His hair was short and dark blonde, and while his jaw was thicker than any of his compatriots', his eyes were just as blue. "But isn't that exactly what you've been doing, Gennai? Turning against us? I know what you've been doing, thinking one of us is a spy. Yeah, I know all about it. And don't you deny it either, Elena. If anyone has been tearing us apart it's the two of you!"

"Malkis, you are a fool," said Kandack. "You have always been a fool and you have always believed yourself to be wise. Of course you are as old as I, you realize just how often those things coincide."

"Look who's talking a bout being a fool," Malkis replied. "I _am_ as old as you are!"

"There is more than one way to measure age."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I have heard it said that a man only gets any older during the time in which he pays attention. I suppose that would make you still an infant."

"Watch it, Kandack. There's more than enough fight in this 'infant' to put you down for good."

"Ah, Malkis." Kandack pulled back his hood. His gray hair and beard were all of medium length, though his scalp was quite bald. His face demonstrated a sagely quality, so wrinkled that he would look more than sixty years of age in human reckoning. His mouth was thin, but it seemed to smile often, and his brow was very much alert, not at all heavy with age. His eyes, though pale, were unmistakably blue. "It is a shame that in all this time you haven't realized that fighting will not eliminate the problem, but rather it will cause it to merely change its form."

"Speaking of fighting, we're here to talk about the problem at hand, not to relive gramps' glory days," said Shin.

"I'm not finished yet!" said Malkis.

"I'm also unhappy with these suspicions of yours, Gennai," said Loki. "I can't help feeling that the least-trusting person is the one that deserves the least trust."

"What are you saying?" asked Elena.

"I think it's pretty clear," said Malkis.

"Maybe I was wrong to suspect any of you of being in league with the enemy," said Gennai. "But given the situation, I don't think so. The evidence is still there. How did the Dark Masters find our base all those years ago? How did Myotismon learn how to operate the gateway between worlds? The Vanguard found out about Protomon's revival; the Genocide Virus made its way into our old base; and with the mysterious digivice that we alone know how to manufacturer…"

"The digivice is destroyed now," said Shin. "It's a moot point."

"No it isn't," said Gennai. "I know it's not solid evidence. I know it implicates us all equally. But I think we have to deal with this before we can move forward. If we cannot trust each other completely again, we will only undermine ourselves."

"Your accusations are indeed dire," said Virgil. All eyes turned to him as he took a step forward. "You are playing a dangerous game, a game that could break the fragile bond between us and ensure our own defeat. If you want to go down this road, you must follow it to its inevitable end. Are you each prepared to face whatever end that may be?"

"If it'll get Gennai to finally shut up," said Malkis.

"I'm on board for that," said Shin.

"You know how I feel," said Gennai. "I have to know."

"Then you won't have to wait for your answer very long. It will arrive here in just a moment."

"What do you mean—"

Before Gennai could finish his sentence the door swung open and in stepped a few uninvited guests. The first was Ryo, his brown cloak now little more than tatters. His shirt was missing a sleeve, which he'd apparently used as a bandage for his knee. He was dirty and scraped up, and even he didn't know where he'd lost his duffel bag. But despite all this his smiling eyes were as crystal clear as ever. Guilmon and Terriermon followed him in with Cyberdramon bringing up the rear.

"Ryo!" Elena exclaimed.

"Hi, mom," he replied exhaustedly.

"Right on time," said Virgil.

"How did you—" Malkis started before turning to Tiresias. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I only know what I must know," Tiresias replied with a little smile. "Virgil was the only one that needed to know of this, but I had to know in order to tell him."

"Sneaky bast—"

"I thought I might run into you all here," said Ryo.

"And I knew you would curb that attitude of yours by now, young man," Tiresias replied.

"It's a good thing too," Ryo replied with a weak smile. "Seems like this place is tense enough."

"Virgil says you've got some answers for us," Shin said, still playing catch with himself.

"Answers?" asked Ryo. "Sorry, but I'm here with questions."

"Minari…" Virgil muttered with a nod.

Minari looked at him, then at Ryo, then she nodded back. "Come here, my boy," she said. "And have your friends close the door behind them."

Ryo stepped into the room, still not quite sure what was going on. Cyberdramon meanwhile shut the door with a growl. Ryo soon stood in the middle of the room next to Malkis.

"Well come closer, I can't see you over there," Minari said impatiently. Ryo obliged and stepped in front of her. "Bend a bit, honey, I'm not a young woman you know. Honestly, you'd think a woman would get a little respect at five-hundred years old."

"You're almost a thousand, just like the rest of us," said Shin.

"Oh hush," said Minari. "It's rude to tell a woman's real age you know. Now then, Ryo…" She slipped off her hood and looked up into his face. She had white hair in a very elaborate bun with a few curly locks of hair dangling off the back and around her ears. Her face was slightly wrinkled and she looked a bit thin all around from her hands to her cheeks. She had pronounced cheekbones, a narrow mouth, thin eyebrows and piercing blue-gray eyes. "Give me your hand dear."

Ryo held out his hand palm down. Minari took it with one hand and carefully felt his pulse with the other, checking in several places on his wrist and seeming to make a mental note of each. She then turned his hand palm-up and studied it a bit, tracing the grooves with her slender fingers.

"You never take the easy road, do you?" asked Minari.

"I guess not. You could tell that from my hand?"

"No, I heard it from your mother. The calluses just confirm it."

"Oh."

"But if you really want to know, it looks like you need to eat more vegetables. And you had the flu about a month ago. Some stewed leek soup she clear out any remaining symptoms."

"Wow. Anything else?"

"Yes. You haven't bathed in weeks and you could use a comfortable bed for the night."

Ryo smiled.

"Stop messing around and do your thing," said Malkis.

"You never did have much of a sense of humor," Minari replied. "I swear you're almost as bad as that impatient Shin over there."

"Leave me outta' this, lady," said Shin.

"And they wonder why we all can't get along," Minari whispered to Ryo.

"Time is of the essence," Virgil said calmly.

"Alright, I'll do it." Minari placed her palm on Ryo's forehead and looked deep into his eyes. As he looked back he felt like he was losing himself, as if his whole life was flashing before his eyes. But it wasn't frightening at all; in fact he remembered things perfectly that he hadn't thought about in years. The rush was a bit overwhelming, but before he knew it, it was all over and he pulled back into his own body. Minari looked away.

"Well?" asked Virgil.

"I've filled in enough of the blanks," she replied.

"Then here is your answer, Gennai," said Virgil. "Centuries ago when we were all captured by Daemon, we were all subject to his mental probes. That is how he was able to seal Azulongmon's power, forcing him to call for the first five DigiDestined. At the same time he was able to learn the location of our base of operations. He no doubt communicated that information to the Vanguard before his defeat; they must have passed that on to the Dark Masters much later just before they began their assault on our world. We were their first objective, but they had to wait until the ideal moment, which was shortly after we separated from our digimon."

"That's right," said Kandack. "It couldn't have been two weeks after our digimon left that the Dark Masters made their move."

"It was then that they acquired all we knew. They took what they could use and crushed whatever they couldn't. They then left the base to the ravages of time. You, Gennai were lucky enough to escape, even if you were weakened by the program that Piedmon loaded into you. The rest of us were imprisoned."

"Hurry it up, Virgil," said Shin.

"Among the items they found of use was the gateway we created to bring in a new group of DigiDestined. They kept it in reserve for a planned future invasion of Earth and it was left to you, Gennai, to bring in the DigiDestined by… alternative methods."

"So since Myotismon was one of the Dark Masters' henchmen, he was put in charge of finding out how to use the gate," Gennai concluded.

"Just like Devimon was put in charge of hiding the tags," said Elena.

"Precisely," said Virgil. "He was to make an expeditionary assault on Earth while the Dark Masters consolidated their power here. It must have taken him years to discover that we hid the data for activating the gate in the form of those cards, and perhaps even longer to decipher which cards and in what order."

"Ryo has just now helped me fill in the rest of the blanks," said Minari. "Apparently he and Ken Ichijouji stumbled upon the base while trying to find shelter from a sandstorm not long after the Dark Masters' defeat. It was only days later that they stumbled upon Millenniumon, who tracked them to the base. Much later, Ryo and Millenniumon, or rather XeedMillenniumon as he had become by then, were thrown back in time to the beginning of Digital existence. Once there, Millenniumon set a backup plan into motion in case he failed: he sent a message to himself in the future. The delivery of the message was set to be delayed until he was created an eon later. He would tell himself to wait inside the base at a certain time so he would be able to ambush Ken and Ryo there and prevent his defeat at their hands.

"Something went wrong though. As the message floated around cyberspace it was intercepted by that area's only resident, the Genocide Virus after its banishment by Protomon. It learned the location of the base, but it was unable to get there for some time, as even getting to the Digital World proved a daunting task. It finally put that information to use after its defeat while in Protomon's body. We were able to glean this from excavating the ruins of the base after the battle with NightmareOmnimon. Several scans of the virus were still available and that's where we found the message from Millenniumon. Ryo here helped me put it together."

"I suppose I don't need to ask how the Vanguard knew about our plans to revive Protomon then," said Gennai. "I can figure that much out myself. When Devimon took up residence on Infinity Mountain he must have discovered more of the mountain's secrets than the black gears. He must have learned of the prophecy of Protomon's return as well."

"Happy now?" asked Malkis. "I think you owe us all an apology, Gennai."

"In a moment," said Gennai. "First I want an explanation for the digivice."

"I think we'd all like that," said Loki.

"It is indeed troubling," said Virgil. "It is possible that either the Dark Masters or the Genocide Virus could have acquired schematics from the base and manufactured it elsewhere. In order to be certain about that I would need to examine the device itself to check for any irregularities. Based on what I have been told, it did not function like an ordinary digivice of that model should. Unfortunately, as Shin mentioned, it is destroyed and an attempt to examine it now would be fruitless. The much greater concern I have is what it was doing inside SaberSetomon's digiegg."

"He is no ordinary digimon," said Gennai. "I've learned as much as I can about him, and he leads a strange life."

"Have you had the chance to see him?" asked Elena.

"I have," said Virgil.

"And?" asked Shin.

"Did you read his code?" asked Kandack.

"I did," said Virgil. "You are right. He is a very unusual digimon.."

"Just how unusual?" asked Gennai.

Virgil sighed. "If the circumstances were different, I would not speak of this. But because we are in such stressful and dangerous times, I must regretfully reveal his true lineage to you."

"His true lineage?" asked Malkis.

"He is not a natural digimon," said Virgil. "He is very close; he may have even begun as a natural digimon. Whoever did it was very good, but I could still make out the stitch-work on his code. He is an artificial, a designer digimon, every bit as manufactured as the digivice he bore until a few days ago."

"I can't believe it…" said Elena.

"I think it would be best not to tell him, or anyone else for that matter," said Minari. "Something like this is very private. There is no telling what it could mean for him."

"So is it bad?" asked Gennai.

"Well, his data won't simply fall apart," said Virgil. "Whoever created him was good enough to give him enough resilience to survive as many deaths as a normal digimon. He wasn't built to be exceptional in any way though. His strength, intelligence and abilities are all fairly average for his species. What I found was a huge amount of excess data, much of which isn't found in any digimon. Most of it was just tacked on, not even functioning. There were parts of it though that had successfully integrated with his code. I am afraid what the purpose of it all is eludes me."

"I'm willing to bet the programmer will be able to answer our questions about him and that digivice," said Kandack. "Have you seen anything that might lead us to whoever that may be?"

"The skill of the work was exceptional, but the amount of non-functioning data suggests this was only a trial run. The number of human candidates in all four Earths is very small. The number of digimon who could do this kind of work is also limited, and I doubt any digimon with this ability could escape our view. Lucemon jumps to mind when I consider candidates. The Sovereigns could have done this, if they were still around. We also cannot overlook ourselves or even the Vanguard. The sad truth is that we have many candidates and few clues, and until we find who created SaberSetomon, we may never know why he was created and why he had that digivice."

At that point Guilmon fell right on his face. "Too much talking," he groaned. "Ryo, I'm sooooo hungry. My tummy's getting mad at me…"

"I'm with dino-breath," said Terriermon. "When are we gonna' grab some grub?"

As Ryo looked at Guilmon it sparked something in his memory. "Do you think he could have been made by a digignome?"

"That is also possible," said Virgil. "However, we are once again left with the question of why."

"Ryo…" said Guilmon.

"Do not interrupt us, digimon," said Malkis.

"Do not speak down to them, Malkis," Virgil warned strongly. "We are all equals. We are no better or worse than digimon, or any other life-form for that matter."

"Of course," Malkis said grudgingly.

"Why don't we take a break," Elena suggested. "I think we've put this theory of a spy to rest as best as we can and day is about to break. It's time to inspect the troops. I think Master Virgil would like some time alone to consult with Lord Omnimon anyway. Ryo, you may use this room if you would like; I think you might want to spend some time in the shower."

"We can all meet again later on," said Gennai.

"Don't forget about that apology you owe us," said Malkis.

"Don't worry, I think you'll remind me," Gennai said with a smile.

Malkis smiled back and the Guardians began to shuffle out of the room.

"What about us?" asked Guilmon.

"Come along," said Shin. "I'll get you two some of the best food in town."

"Lead the way!" shouted Terriermon.

"Coming, Ryo?" asked Guilmon.

"Maybe later. Right now I'm trying to decide between hopping in the shower and hopping in bed."

"I'll secure the perimeter," said Cyberdramon.

"You do that, buddy," said Ryo.

After everyone else had left, only Virgil lingered behind with Ryo. "Listen to me, Legendary Tamer," said Virgil. "I saw many questions in your eyes when you first entered this room. I see even more there now. But you are too tired to ask your questions now, much less listen to the answers. Just rest. There is still enough time."

Ryo smiled weakly. "Thank you. But please, can I ask just one question first?"

"You may."

"Did Tiresias tell you what he sees… about me?"

"He has. He sees only what he must see, and he says only what he must say."

"But if he knew I'd choose to stay and fight, why tell me?"

"Tiresias does not concern himself with that kind of question. He says what he must say because it is his purpose as he perceives it. To fulfill one's purpose is not only inevitable, it is also immensely satisfying when one recognizes it. If you want to know why he told you what he did, you will have to find out for yourself."

"I see. And if my purpose is to die?"

"Then it is inevitable. All I can offer is this: if he had not told you the consequences of the choice, would you still have chosen to stay?"

"…I don't know."

"Then you had best begin working on it. Now, since you have asked me two more questions than you requested, I will be leaving you. Rest, Ryo Akiyama. You may not have the chance again for some time."

Virgil was finally gone and Ryo was alone. He had a lot of questions on his mind, but thankfully there was only one that mattered for the time being: were the beds comfy? He resolved to find out.

No sooner had Ryo's head hit the pillow than the light of day began to spread across the town with the suddenness only seen in the south. The burst of sunlight put some of the guards a little more on ease. To many it signaled a shift change. Others were called to wake up by the sudden brightness.

The town's makeshift hospital was hit no less forcefully by the daylight. It was enough to stir one patient from his nearly-comatose state. His first instinct was to roll away from the light, but the surging pain that moving caused throughout his body only woke him up all the more. He lay there for a few minutes with his eyes shut tight, barely breathing for fear of the pain. After a couple minutes he began to relax. He managed to shift his weight with gritted teeth if only to move off what felt like bedsores. With his eyes finally open though still blurry, he began to take note of his surroundings. It was an unremarkable wooden room, long with three or four windows on the wall opposite him. He could make out rows of beds on his left and right with his peripheral vision; every bed he could make out was full. There was a mix of very strong smells in the air, ranging from blood to antiseptic. He could hear muffled voices and shuffling around.

"Where am I?" SaberSetomon asked with a very dry mouth.

He was surprised by the sound of his own voice, not by how dry and weakened it was, but rather by how deep and rumbling it seemed to him. It didn't seem normal. He looked down at himself, wrapped tightly in bandages. He didn't even look right to himself. The fur, the size, the shape… nothing about it was right. As he thought about it he began to realize why. As far as he knew he'd spent over a week living as a human. In that place, that life, he could have completely forgotten about all of this. It seemed like a dream to him. But now he was a digimon again.

"What am I?" he whispered. "Digimon? Human? It doesn't make any damn sense…"

It had been like one long rollercoaster ride for him since leaving File Island. Every time he thought he had a grip on things life threw something new at him. As a digimon he believed himself to be a digimon, and that other world was merely the creation of bad dreams. But when he was a human, he knew all kinds of stuff about being human; he really believed he was human, and he was just waking up from a fantasy about monsters. He couldn't deny either.

"I'm so confused…" he muttered.

"That's because you're weak."

"Huh? Who's there?"

He saw someone approach out of the corner of his eye. As she got close he recognized her.

"SamuSetomon?"

"Damn right."

"Can I get something to drink?"

"Get it yourself, pup."

"Still tough as nails…"

"…And twice as sharp."

They both smiled.

"How long have I been out?" SaberSetomon finally asked.

"Nine days."

"Sounds about right," he said to himself, recalling the time he'd spent as a human.

"What's that?"

"I said I'm surprised you stayed with me all this time."

"Don't flatter yourself. This is only the second time I've been back to this town since I scraped you out from under Mephismon's foot."

"Yeah right," he said with a grin. "I bet you spent every hour at my side, never sleeping or eating until I woke up just now."

"My, my. Is that a jab at me? I'm impressed. Pretty soon you'll be better with your words than your fists…but that's not saying much."

"Well of course not, when you compare them both to that attitude of yours."

"Was that a comeback? I guess a week in a coma agrees with you."

"Hey, SamuSetomon?"

"At your service."

"Why did you say I was weak just now?"

"I was wondering how long you'd take to ask that. I called you weak because you are."

"Well I may not be as strong as you, but I sure—"

"Not that kind of weak, genius. I mean your mind, your will. If you're confused by yourself you can' understand yourself, and thus you can't understand anything."

"I don't understand."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"You were just saying you don't even know what you are. You're confused by yourself. If your mind is weak you won't be able to confront yourself on anything. You'll allow yourself to be confused and you'll lose sight of the path. Focus your mind, know yourself and the way will be clear."

"It's not that easy…"

"Sure it is. Tell me your problem."

"I'm not sure I—"

"Just spit it out, pup! You're not getting anywhere with it on your own."

"Well you see, it's like I lead these two different lives. But I can't tell which is real…"

"Does it feel like one or the other is fake?"

"Sometimes. It switches back and forth a lot."

"So they both feel real?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Then they're both real."

"It's not that simple! They just can't both be real."

"I don't see why not. You're willing to trust your body right now enough to believe that broken arm of yours hurts. Why aren't you willing to trust your body to tell you something a lot more basic, that both of these lives you lead are real?"

"I don't know…"

"Of course you don't. Until you really know yourself you can't know anything else. If you know who you are you'll have something to hold onto, something to be confident about. From there you get self-confidence. If you know yourself you can relate all other things to yourself and thereby understand them. If you know how you think you can learn how your enemy thinks, and by responding to what you would do as him, you can defeat him every time. Finally, if you really truly know yourself, you will know your purpose, and the way to be happy in life is to do whatever you can to fulfill that purpose. Find your purpose, pup, and you'll never see another rainy day."

"My purpose?"

"Everything has purpose. Everything. It may be totally insignificant but everything strives to fulfill its purpose, most of the time without even realizing it. The beautiful part is that everything inevitably fulfills its purpose; it is the way of existence."

"But what if I discover my purpose and I choose to do something else?"

"No matter what action you take, all roads come together at the end and you will inexorably end up at the place you are meant to. Therefore all choice is meaningless, purposeless, and therefore it can't exist."

"No way. I don't buy it. I know because I made a choice a little while ago. I was being pulled by everything both outside and even on the inside to do something. I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but I wanted to do it, even though I knew it was wrong. I can still feel the pressure; sometimes it's only an itch in the back of my mind, but at other times it's so strong I can barely stop myself. I just…have this urge. It's like I need to kill something or I'm going to explode. My body is telling me that it's a good thing, and I'm not even sure anymore if it's wrong. That bastard…Amadeus…did this to me! He gave me all this power…tried to make me his servant…and finally gave me this curse! But I have resisted until today, and I will resist it until tomorrow. That is choice. That is going against things like fate."

"Then it wasn't your purpose to serve him, at least not then. What happened has happened, and because it happened it was your purpose that it should happen just like that."

"Believe what you want, but I know I still have some control over my life."

"I'm not trying to tell you that you don't. I'm trying to tell you a simple truth: know yourself. The rest I leave up to you."

"Hang on a second."

"What, pup?"

"If you're such an expert on all this, tell me something. What is your purpose?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Of course."

SamuSetomon leaned in very close. "Can you keep a secret?" she whispered.

"Yeah…" he whispered back.

"Well…" she began. "So can I." She pulled away from him with a grin.

"You really are one tough nut…"

"I sure can't say the same for you." She pushed lightly on one of his bruises and he instantly flinched.

"Stop it…"

"Do yourself a favor. Don't fight. You'll just end up dead like everyone else who goes out there."

"What?"

"There's a battle brewing soon. More digimon arrive every day talking about a demon digimon called the Destroyer. I hear he's supposed to be Mephismon's boss. This town is the center for a whole mess of trouble. Everyone who fights is going to die."

"Somehow I think I'll end up dead eventually no matter what I do. Besides, you think I'll fight if it's my purpose to."

"And you think you can choose whether to fight or not. Maybe you can, but maybe you've already made that choice. In any case…" she poked his bruise again, "I'd try to get healthy as fast as I could if I were you."

"Just you wait. I'll be ready for the fight. I'll be even stronger, and just so you know, I plan on being the one to get rid of Mephismon once and for all."

"If you can find him. I haven't smelled him lurking about for a while, and I've been looking. Something tells me we might not have to worry about running into him again; at least not anytime soon."

SaberSetomon laughed a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh it's nothing, really. You were saying?"

"Don't play coy with me, kid."

"Well, it's just that I don't really hear you saying 'we' a whole lot. I think you like hanging around me all the time."

SamuSetomon frowned. She pushed on one of his bruises again, this time with a little added force.

"Ouch!"

"Watch your tongue, Nari."

They were both silent for a short while. SamuSetomon backed off again and turned her attention to the window. It was a very bright morning. Despite the ruin of so many buildings the town was more alive than it had ever been before.

"I've never been anywhere so crowded…" she said almost to herself. "Ever since I hatched…"

"Are you from around here?"

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing."

"…If you mean the southern quadrant, then yeah. Over a hundred miles west of this place though. Made a big clockwise circle through the quadrants. I didn't run into you until near the end of the trip."

"Well are you glad you did?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not a thing."

"Yeah right."

"You know, this is the first time you've told me anything about yourself. I mean, you know all about me. But I don't know anything about you."

"Well I hope you enjoyed it, because that's all you're getting."

They grew quiet again. In the silence, SaberSetomon was able to observe the ripped portion of SamuSetomon's shirt. His eyes shifted down to his broken arm and saw it was still bound with the same bandaged she'd put there herself.

"I'd better get going," said SamuSetomon.

"You're not staying?"

"That's what I meant when I said I was going."

"But I just woke up!"

"And it was about time. Mephismon's nowhere to be found and if he does show up again you'll be able to defend yourself to the best of your abilities. I've got a journey to continue on, and I've already let you delay me way too long. I should be back home right now."

"Then you won't be fighting in that battle I guess."

"It's none of my concern. It's none of yours either. Be smart and just move along."

"Now you know me. I'm not exactly the smart type."

"Then this is goodbye."

She turned and walked away without even waiting for him to return the sentiment. The truth was, though, he wouldn't have said goodbye no matter how long she waited. He believed they would meet again, and he was right.


	30. Musings

**Day 46**

Narias was on his feet again, even if his scars hadn't completely healed. He donned the same baggy cargo pants, belt and wife-beater. His shaggy red hair was as uncombed as ever; his feet were still bandaged; and he still had his heavy leather gloves with the metal plates over his knuckles. The only thing that wasn't the same was the place. He was in a park with all kinds of greenery between the cement walkways that were dotted by wooden benches. Other people were walking about, most of them dressed more warmly than Narias. Even though it was summer it was getting a little cold as night drew close. He could see street lights coming on over the trees, even though the sky was barely turning purple. A cold breeze whipped past and Narias shivered.

"Sure feels real enough to me…" he muttered.

He took a seat on one of the wooden benches. A young, attractive couple walked past. The sounds of traffic, pigeons and a street musician wafted by his ears. The smell of night was already heavy in the air.

"Maybe she's right," he said to himself. "Maybe they both are real. But if they are…"

Someone on a skateboard whooshed past him.

"…Then what am I?"

"A common question…" said a man's voice.

"Huh?" Narias started to get up.

"Stay where you are," said the voice. A gloved hand came down on Narias' shoulder and pinned him to his seat. "I haven't excused you yet."

Narias could smell a putrid stink coming off the glove. It wasn't the odor of any normal filth; no, it was the stomach-turning aroma of decaying flesh, mixed with sulfur and charred bone. It was a stink he had identified long ago.

"Amadeus…"

"That's right."

Narias swallowed. He wanted to run, but something other than Amadeus' heavy hand held him back.

"Do you really want to know what you are?"

Narias remained silent, but he nodded slightly.

"There's a time that everyone must asks questions like yours. Who am I? Why am I here? What am I supposed to do with my life? For humans, that time is called puberty, and asking those questions any later than that is a sign of boredom. You aren't bored, are you?"

"No."

"Good, good. I've been working so hard to make sure you keep active. There's nothing worse than a boring life."

"So I've noticed. But you know there's more out there than humans. Are they just bored too?"

"Thankfully, there is more. Digimon. They walk, talk, think and live so much like the humans that grew them in test tubes. It's pathetic that they don't realize how much more they could become."

"So are you saying you're not a digimon?"

"That, like so many things, is a matter of perspective…although, I grant you, the line has become even more blurred lately. Let's just say I'm as human as you are… almost."

"You don't sound too happy about that."

"Even you, you weak-minded creature, must admit it is exceedingly difficult to even form cognizant thought encased in the fleshy trappings of a bald ape. I have been both the chasm of their worship and the pinnacle of their nightmares; for me to become one of them is sickening."

"And yet you have. Why?"

"More questions. The why does not matter. Reason is a mask that these animals hide behind. What weak creatures they are that they don't realize that their so-called reasoning is not the finding of reason for what they do and why they exist, but rather the creation of that reason. They would all surely succumb to utter despair if they had the mental energy to realize that their so-called 'free-will' is an illusion, that 'choice' is a subconscious act utterly devoid of rationale and that the only purpose for their vaunted reasoning is to delude themselves into thinking that they control their choices when in fact they are hopelessly adrift at sea."

"You seem to think you're different from them somehow."

"I assure you I am different from everything that has come before me. But we are not here to talk about me. I'm here for you."

"You don't own me. You already tried and failed."

"How utterly human. Do you think that just because you 'choose' to go your own way that you can actually succeed? Your empty reasoning cannot save you from what you are."

"Say it as much as you want. It's not going to change my mind."

"No, I don't suppose it would. Fortunately you have already fulfilled your obligation to me. Now I have but one final test for you: death."

"You don't scare me."

"Oh yes I do. Your whole body screams your terror. But back to the point, you have one final duty to me. But how should I do it? Do I kill you now, as a human, or later, as a digimon? What of the consequences of each? If I kill you as a human will you turn into a lifeless corpse like them, or will you regenerate like a digimon? If I kill one form will the other still survive? Will I have to kill both at the same time? This is all quite thrilling, I assure you. My only regret is that I'll only be able to do it once."

"If anyone is scared here, it's you. You've sent everything you've got to kill me and you haven't even come close. I've survived attacks from your Airdramon, FlaWizardmon, Mephismon, and even you yourself. And now I'm on your doorstep and you're as helpless to stop me as ever."

Amadeus laughed. "Then why not open the door and come inside? I have much larger threats to contend with than you. If I so wished I could obliterate everything within ten miles of you with the wave of a hand. You're just lucky I like to take pleasure in my work."

"I've already heard about you from the Guardians. They told me about the Destroyer. I knew right away that you had to be him."

Amadeus laughed again. "How perfect is this? You know who I am, yet you don't even know who you are. I love it…"

"If you're not afraid, then what are you waiting for? You know we don't have our forces ready yet. You're ready to make war on the entire Digital World. They say you're one of the strongest digimon ever, so why are you still waiting? The only explanation is that you're too scared of us. You want us to make the first move because you can't."

"I don't think a creature as young and inexperienced as you should question my battle strategy."

"Then let's do this right here and now. I'll show you just how much I know about battle strategy!"

Narias spun in his seat and slammed his elbow into Amadeus' side. The man's grip weakened just enough for Narias to shove himself off the bench. He tucked into a ball and did one roll along the cement before pushing up into a standing position with his gaze fixed on Amadeus. Amadeus smiled and stepped around the bench toward Narias. Narias charged with his hands balled into fists. He threw a punch, but Amadeus moved his head to the side with minimal effort. Narias tried again with an uppercut but Amadeus bent back slightly and Narias hit nothing but air. In the same fluid motion that Amadeus used to escape harm, he extended his foot and brought it up with a sharp jerk, taking Narias' legs out from under him. Narias hit the ground hard but immediately rolled back and out of danger for the moment.

"Very sloppy," said Amadeus.

Narias got up into a crouch and lunged for Amadeus' legs, but Amadeus once again stepped aside and Narias hit the ground, skinning his chin on the concrete. He rolled back over and hopped to his feet. Still bent down low he threw his full weight into a punch at Amadeus' abdomen, only to have the older man grab his wrist and turn his own strength against him, flipping him completely over and right onto his back. Narias stayed there for a moment with the wind knocked out of him, but once he saw Amadeus' cruel face looking down over him he gritted his teeth and jumped back up. He staggered a few feet forward to buy himself a little extra time before the next encounter.

"Pitiful," Amadeus remarked. "If this is all you can do as a human, how much greater do you think the difference will be between us when we are both in our rightful forms?"

Narias didn't respond. He turned back to face Amadeus with eager fists and unsteady eyes. His breathing was heavy and irregular, and even though it had only been a few seconds he was already getting scraped up. Blood dripped from his chin and splattered his shirt and pants.

"H-h-how…?" was all he managed to gasp out.

"How can I beat you?" asked Amadeus. "I should think that would be obvious. You're like a rock…in more ways than one…while I am like water. You may hit hard and with a lot of power, but when you try to hit me I merely move out of the way and turn your own force back upon you. It is the way of things that brute force and control be separate, and that I, as that control, may use your force as I wish."

Narias grinned. "Not..." he wheezed, "completely. Or have you cough forgotten that I still won't fight for you?"

"Water will inevitably wear down even the sturdiest rock. And believe me when I say I have encountered rocks far harder than you."

Narias made his move once more. He charged, getting in as close as he could before he threw his punch. But once more he failed. Amadeus caught him by the wrist again, this time tugging him forward enough to ram his knee up into his gut before twisting his arm around his back so hard it nearly dislocated Narias' shoulder. Narias instinctively leaned back and Amadeus struck him hard in the face with his free elbow, laying the young man flat-out on his ass.

Amadeus stood over Narias, a little smirk on his face. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "You know," he said as he began to smoke, "water can flow gently and freely one second and come thundering down the next. The rock is solid. It's obvious, and it can't change. Your body, your mind, and your technique are all so rigid that they will get you killed."

Narias tried to lift his head, to stare up at Amadeus in contempt. His nose was bleeding badly and he could hardly see. His stomach felt like it had been turned inside-out and his arm had been badly wrenched.

"That is the greatest weakness of both you and these…creatures," Amadeus continued. He pulled his cigarette from his lips and smiled. When he did so, the entire cigarette flared up and was burned to ash in less than a second. "So rigid. So unable to go beyond preset limitations. So eager to accept what boundaries have been placed upon them. Fortunately, I have no such weakness. Unlike them, I do not accept weakness. Unlike them, I can go beyond the limits of this body. Unlike them, I have all the strengths of a digimon, and none of their human frailties." Amadeus' haunting grin finally left Narias' sight as the hulking man turned away and began to walk down the path. At his sides, fires began to spring up in the plants, on benches and in garbage cans, and even on the very concrete where Amadeus' feet had fallen. Narias' last sight before passing out was the flickering glow of a dozen fires.

The Destroyer's innermost sanctum was as dark as ever, with only the fire pits to shed light on the stonework and blood-stained corpses. Then a soul-gripping light flared up in the darkness, only for a moment. It was the Destroyer, finally feeling like himself again. He knew right away that he wasn't alone.

"This had best be good…" he said in that raspy voice of his.

"I would like to think so, father."

"Come closer, child…"

The digimon stepped forward through the darkness, truly unafraid of the Destroyer's omnipresent evil. "Is this better?"

"Much…"

The digimon felt one of the Destroyer's tendrils brush past it. "I'm here to deliver my report."

"I know. Get on with it."

The digimon cleared its throat. "All is as you have foreseen it. Digimon continue to gather in the south at an alarming rate. Omnimon, the Guardians, and several other notable figures have all convened in the settlement of Kalu. There is even a human among them."

"Take care with that one, child. Despite their crippling weaknesses, humans tend to pose a threat. Do not underestimate the impact of the presence of even one of them."

"Of course, father."

"Go on."

"The human isn't our only concern. Given the numbers they've amassed and with how many new soldiers come in by the day, they may be strong enough to overrun us completely within the week."

The Destroyer laughed. "I'm counting on it…"

"Father, I think we should call back the Demon Corps. Even with a few of its members still missing they can greatly improve our chances of surviving."

"Surviving? My child you really don't see the whole picture yet. It is not our survival that is at stake here. You need only concern yourself with cleaning up after I have dealt with their pathetic army."

"I'm sorry for doubting you, father."

"Be certain not to do it again. Not even you, child, are exempt from feeling my displeasure."

"I know."

"And you were not detected gathering this intelligence?"

"No. None knew of me."

"Is there more to report?"

"Nothing of consequence. Is there anything else you want?"

The Destroyer was silent for a moment. "What is your destiny?"

"Father?"

"Your destiny. Your fate. The inevitable conclusion and therefore the purpose of your existence."

"You have told me that my own destiny and the destiny of all things is to die, to cease to exist."

"Then why do we choose to remain among the living?"

"To hasten the destinies of others. It is a selfless act, bringing completion to others while denying it to ourselves."

"…Until another arrives who is stronger than we are, who is better able to bring completion to others than we are, and so brings completion, the sweet embrace of oblivion, to us."

"Those who choose to fight us, to fight destiny, only cause suffering in those they tear from death."

"These are _his_ words."

"Four eyes see the world, the fifth sees through it."

"And what do these words mean to you, child?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. You can recite these prophecies and scriptures all you want, but it's not going to win this battle."

"Then what will?" the Destroyer asked in an amused tone.

"Me."

"You?"

"You can go ahead and believe whatever you want, 'dad.' It's all just a bunch of nonsense. If this battle is going to be won, then I'm the only one I can trust to do it."

"If you find what I have told you so distasteful, why do you fight for me?"

"Because you are my father. Our bond is unbreakable, for while you give me all I need, I give you all that I can offer and what you need most: my loyalty."

The Destroyer laughed. "Child, you fascinate me more with every passing day. Even after all this time you are as much of a mystery to me as the day you hatched. Yet somehow I trust you more than any of the Demon Corps."

"You should. Speaking of which…"

"Beelzemon?"

"Yes."

"He is on a short leash."

"I hope so."

"He is not your concern. Now go, child. Tend to the hounds and redouble your training. If you are to win this battle on your own, you will need to grow much stronger."

"Of course, father…"

The digimon bowed and quickly left the Destroyer's presence. A pair of resting Setmon at the entrance lifted their heads to watch the digimon leave before looking back to the Destroyer.

"_Thief, liar, deceiver,_

_And yet so trustworthy.___

_Who are you tricking?_

_Me? Them? You?_

_No one.___

_Falsehoods in your truths_

_And reality in your lies.___

_Clever.___

_You are who you are,_

_There is no denying it._

_You are mine._

_My pet, my child, my right hand.___

_In time you will be strong._

_Surpass me? Hopefully._

_Maybe it will be you who gives me_

_Completion._"

It was night again. SaberSetomon was finally feeling well enough again to get back on his feet and walk around a bit more. His left arm was setting nicely, though he still wore the bandage SamuSetomon had made for him, if only for the sentimental attachment. It felt good to get back outside again. There was the slightest hint of moisture in the air, which was strange for the quadrant. The only smells were of grass and dirt, but that was a lot better than the hospital where the odors of blood and antiseptic battled for supremacy. Yes, it was good to be back on his feet.

He wandered through town, taking note of some of the ruined buildings and all the new digimon. He wasn't paying too much attention, as he was still distracted by his most recent dream. He was just glad he'd woken up when he did. Perhaps it was because he wasn't paying very close attention that he wound up at the gulley just outside of town. There were plenty of rolling hills stretched out beyond it, leading up to the mountain. Trees were sparse, but grass was plentiful. It was very quiet here, very still. The perfect place to get a little thinking done.

The ground below him suddenly shook, but only for a moment. Then it shook again, but quickly stopped. The short tremors continued at an even pace for a few more seconds before coming to a halt. SaberSetomon quickly set off in search of the shaking. It didn't take him long, as a quick look around helped him catch sight of a moving figure over the top of a hill he'd walked over only a few minutes earlier. He moved as fast as he could to get the whole figure in sight. As he rounded the bend he saw it quite clearly: it was Omnimon, looking away to the north. His cape swayed in the hot wind coming from the direction he faced.

After a few moments, SaberSetomon built up the nerve to call out. "Omnimon?"

Omnimon turned his head. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's alright."

"You are…a strange digimon. I'm not sure I have ever seen the like of you. Have you just arrived?"

"No, I've been here for a little while." He suddenly felt embarrassed, though he didn't know why. "I suppose you wouldn't remember me, but we've met before."

"Now that you mention it… yes… Yes I thought I recognized you. Or at least a part of you."

"It was back on File Island."

"Of course. I remember now. You were still very young back then."

"Right. Of course, I guess you must think I'm still pretty young, even looking like this."

"That, like so much in life, is a matter of perspective. I might see you as very young, but in your eyes you are older than you have ever been before."

"I guess."

Omnimon took a few steps toward SaberSetomon and then turned around to recline on the hillside. SaberSetomon was of course feeling very dominated by Omnimon's great size, but he moved in as close to his head as he dared.

"Omnimon? Have you always been like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like you are. So big, so wise, so strong."

"No, certainly not. I was once like you, or rather we were. I was two different digimon, both quite ordinary until we met our human partners. Even after that it took a long time to end up like this."

"How long?"

"Many digivolutions, a few years, seemingly whole lifetimes of change in what was really just a small space. I've been like this for ten years, but even in that time I've continued to change. I've grown like anyone else."

"Does it seem like it went too fast?"

"Absolutely. I wish I could have had more time with the humans, more time to explore the world as two digimon rather than rule it as one. In retrospect, I wonder if my destiny interfered with my truly enjoying my youth."

"I know the feeling."

"I thought you would."

They were both quiet for a few seconds.

"When I met you I was happy, you know?" said SaberSetomon. "It was a good time. But since then I've been through so much, and none of it good. Guilmon died. I kept having those stupid dreams. I've been tortured by that evil digimon constantly. I lost all my friends on File Island. And to top it all off I've had to give up my own youth, my own happiness, and for what? To be strong enough to survive? Strong enough to fight the Destroyer? At this point it's like I've wasted so much of my life…it's not even worth living."

"You think your life has been too short. It has passed you by in the blink of an eye and now there's no going back."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're not completely wrong. There are times, places and digimon you may never meet again. That's part of living."

"Omnimon, it feels like I'm just going too fast. Like if I can't find a way to slow down right now I'm just gonna fly apart at the seams. Everyone I've met has had years, sometimes decades to grow up. I haven't even had two months. Please, isn't there anything you can tell me to make it better? Anything at all?"

Omnimon sighed. "SaberSetomon, I'm going to tell you some facts, and more importantly I will tell you some truths. What you do with these is up to you. One thing I've learned in my own life is that growing up and living are synonymous. One doesn't just come to a point where they're all grown up and they've had all the experiences and knowledge they will ever had. Growing up is a journey, it is THE journey. You may be moving through parts faster than others, but that doesn't change the fact that you still have a life to live. You still have experiences to remember and to look forward to. The only way that's going to stop is if you let yourself die before you are ready to tell yourself that you are done growing up.

"We digimon are made from the same stuff as the world around us. We are part of it, and it is part of us. The same is true for us and humans as well. It works a little differently for them, but in truth we are all the same. Even us and the evil digimon. Like this world we are built from raw information. Like humans we think, we feel, we are temporal beings. Do you know what we're made from at the most fundamental level?"

"Umm…data?"

Omnimon laughed a little. "No, no. Even more basic than that. Data is made of still smaller things, and those are also made of even smaller things. But at the very base of it all are the energy fields that permeate all existence. Everything we would call 'matter' is composed of fluctuations in those energy fields. And that doesn't apply to just us. The same is true for humans as well. Matter, both real and digital, is made up of those fluctuations, and as such cannot exist without those fields."

SaberSetomon could only stare up blankly. Omnimon noticed this and laughed, this time at himself.

"I'm sorry," he said in an embarrassed tone. "Should I try to simplify it a little?"

"Well I don't want you thinking I'm dumb or anything…"

"Believe me, if you could follow the whole theory you would be a lot smarter than digimon ten times your age. I'll just try to get to the point. Our world uses data, raw information, to determine the organization of those energy fluctuations. When the data is altered, whether by humans or by actions within our own world, the world changes to reflect that change. What we see is a symbolic representation of the truth, of the data that is the underlying essence of our reality."

"Okay… Where is this leading, Omnimon?"

"I told you I would be giving you facts. You have to find the Truth. Just keep listening."

"Sorry."

"Within each digimon is the focal point of all that makes them what they are. It is called a DigiCore, and it holds everything we need from the programs that generate our intelligence to our memories, emotions, and the data that we are made up of. The outer layer of the core is what is called a 'fractal code', which is what gives us our physical bodies. The code is an extraordinarily complex form of a mathematic formula known as a fractal. Fractal codes are present in all things digital that you can see with the naked eye, as they create the symbolic expressions of our data. When we digivolve, new data is added to our DigiCores and the fractal code is changed to express that data more efficiently. Hence the change in our appearances when digivolving."

"Hence…?" SaberSetomon whispered to himself under his breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. It's just… I've seen digimon absorb the data of other digimon after beating them. And I was wondering… what's that about?"

"Adding more data to one's DigiCore makes one stronger, faster, even smarter. When enough data is added you digivolve. As one of the most condensed forms of data in the entire digital world, DigiCores make an excellent source of power for more ruthless digimon. The drawback to it is that it not only makes it impossible for the defeated digimon to reincarnate, but depending on how strong the digimon's mind is, it may be able to interact with the digimon that killed it inside its own mind. The end result is usually madness."

"Sounds bad."

"There are better methods. It's actually not all that different from DNA digivolving, except that the digimon agree to combine their DigiCores, thereby getting the data of both and almost always digivolving to a level beyond what either could reach alone. There's also another method of stealing data without the same risks as absorbing a DigiCore."

"Oh yeah?"

"If one just scans the fractal code of another digimon, that digimon is left with no expression of its DigiCore and, though it retains all its data, must revert to its digiegg form. The code itself contains only a small amount of data, but the beauty of it is that it can be used to generate new data. It's not as powerful as the more brutal and more dangerous data absorption.

"Now then, fractal codes give shape to the land, the sea, and every point of light in the sky, as well as digimon. Like us, the Digital World has DigiCores, which were under the protection of the Sovereigns. In a battle years ago, Azulongmon used one of those DigiCores to aid the DigiDestined in their fight. The battle was won, but the damage to the eastern quadrant was immense, and only the substitution of a human soul in place of the core could restore that place to its former glory. I suppose the soul is the human equivalent of the DigiCore.

"On the topic of humans, they were frequent visitors to our world in the past. They could not maintain their real bodies in our world, just as we could not maintain ours in theirs. The information they carried within them about themselves is what created their bodies here in the same way that ours are created. Because of this their self-perceptions affected their appearances, even if it was only in a small way like a set of clothes. What differentiates us from them was that our DigiCores are able to express our data differently, as through our attributes, which make us data, virus, or vaccine, or through more obvious differences as our combative abilities. We retain or form and abilities in the human world because of the fact that in both worlds, matter is made of the same thing: energy. Our bodies become as real as theirs, but our DigiCores still decide what form those bodies take and what their capabilities are."

"I never knew that…" said SaberSetomon. "Wow. So what does it all mean? Is it just a long way of telling me that everyone is the same inside? Or maybe you're trying to explain to me why I can be both a human and a digimon at the same time. Or maybe…"

"Maybe I'm simply trying to get you thinking by giving you what you need most to think with: information."

"I'm…I'm not sure what to say. Except for this; for a while now I've been wondering about some things. Do I have a choice in my own existence? Or am I just guided by fate, by some all-consuming purpose that I can't get away from? Is free-will just an illusion and is reasoning merely making up a reason for our own actions that we ultimately don't have any control over?"

Omnimon paused for a second. "That's quite a conundrum, and it's one even I have to keep wrestling with. Do you want to know what I've got so far?"

"Of course! That is, if you can keep it simple."

"I'll try. Consider the DigiDestined. Their purpose was to save our world, and against all odds they did just that on several occasions. They could have turned back at any point or they might have been killed or something else could have transpired to stop them. Was it their purpose and their destiny or merely luck and determination? Did all things turn out as they had to or as we wanted them to? I for one believe that their fate was certain. Do you think this means they had no real choice in the matter?"

"I…guess so."

"I disagree. It seems to me that the choices they made they did because it was their nature to make those choices. They didn't turn back. They pressed on and with hard work were successful. One could say that purpose decides the choices we make. However, there is another way to look at it. We choose our own purpose. Did destiny choose them or did they choose their destiny? I cannot say which is true, but I can tell you this much: know thyself. If you can do that, you will know your own choices. You will know your purpose. You won't know which came first, but that won't matter then. Knowing yourself is the key to knowing everything. Trust me on that. And as for the existence of free-will, of choice, I'll only say one thing. Just because you haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Free-will is an awesome power, the MOST awesome power. It has the potential to change the future in ways you can't even imagine, to alter purpose. It is a power everyone has but no one uses, because no one will take that kind of responsibility. Also, it could be that going with the flow is better for everyone than if you choose your own path. There's no telling what the repercussions could be. Of course, that's just a thought. If you want proof of any of what I've said, I can't give it to you. There's only one place to look."

"Where?"

"You know where."

"I see."

"One of these days you're going to learn you can't just find your purpose, even if you're looking for it. You have to choose it. Until then, you might want to take a stroll up to the top of that mountain."

"The mountain? Why?"

"If you want to fight the Destroyer, you'll need help. That's the place you're going to find it."

"How do you know that?"

"I suppose the easiest answer would be…because I am meant to know."

"I guess I'll go then."

"Just remember this, SaberSetomon. You could have gone back to File Island at any time. You could have quit. You could have even been killed. But you didn't and you weren't. Whether by choice or by destiny, you've been in this for the long haul. You may yet prove every bit as important as the DigiDestined."

"Thanks."

"Goodnight, SaberSetomon."

SaberSetomon looked down at his arms. They were still sore and his bones remained tender. But he knew he could do it. "Nice night for a climb. Think I'll head out right now."

And so, SaberSetomon started out once more. His journey seemed filled with these lonely treks in the middle of the night. It didn't bother him so much anymore.

"Take good care of him, friend…" Omnimon said under his breath as he watched SaberSetomon heading for the mountain.


	31. Monologue

[Well I'm back at school and back to writing. Sorry about the long delay, but work and whatnot kept me busy. Anyway I hope I haven't put anyone off and I do have every intention of finishing this entire series, hopefully before the turn of the century. Anyway, here we go . Hope you like this installment.]

* * *

I can't believe how young I was back then. Probably too young to really appreciate what was going on. Or maybe I just appreciated it differently than I do now. I don't know. Now I'm practically old enough to have kids of my own. I don't, but I could. It's strange that way. It's a freedom I never really knew I had before. I guess that's just one of the things that comes from growing up. You get to make more choices. You get more freedom. Even if that choice is to give up some of that freedom. I would think that would be most true when you have kids.

I have a friend who I don't think could ever do it. It would never even cross his mind to have kids, to settle down. He's too independent and wild. That's probably why he and his would-be girlfriend haven't really gotten too serious, even though they've known each other for years; that and they have more fun fighting than dating. This other friend can't stand being alone. I guess that probably comes from growing up in a big family. Too bad he hasn't found anyone yet. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Some days I just love being out on my own, free as a bird. Other days I'm lonely. I want to get close to someone, but it's not that easy.

Yeah, I've been in love before. Once. Of course I was just a little kid at the time, so how much could it count? Nothing ever came of it. I wonder if things would have been different if...no. I don't want to go down that road again. When you're a kid you can ask 'what if' all you want, but when you grow up you don't have the time for that kind of thing anymore. It didn't work out between me and her and that's that. Jeez, I sound old, don't I?

All this talking about growing up...it really gets me thinking. Mostly I'm thinking that it sucks. Sure, I can drive, see any movie I want, drink, vote, stay out as late as I want...but with traffic tickets, hangovers, lousy neighbors, work, bills and whatever else happens on any given day, I'd gladly trade it all for a 10 o'clock curfew and homework. Too bad I don't have a choice in the matter. But that's not all that bugs me. Growing up also means growing older. I'm coming up on my mid-twenties with no girlfriend, no career and no prospects. I'm probably in the best shape now I'll ever be in, and it's not that great. Every year is another year since I last saw my digimon. It's been so long now...it's almost easier sometimes to pretend it was all a kid's game.

I still can't believe how young I was back then, or maybe I just can't believe how old I am now. In the space of just a couple hours I went from being a normal kid playing card games and doodling on a scrap of paper to having my very own one-of-a-kind living digimon. Over the months that followed I made some new friends, went around trying to keep rogue digimon from causing too much damage, tried to stop a secret government agency from destroying all the digimon, fought back the Devas, saw a good part of my hometown leveled, went to another dimension, fought with a digimon god, saved the world and finally returned home, once again without my digimon. Along the way I grew up more than I have in all the time since then. I changed so much in that time, but the biggest change was when Beelzemon...was when Leomon died. Everything changed from then on. Up until that point it still felt like I'd been playing a card game. But when I was really confronted with that level of mortality, and when I knew it could and eventually would happen to me... no kid should ever have to go through something like that. I felt a lot of things for the first time on that trip to the Digital World. Love I've already mentioned, but I felt hate too. I mean I really felt it, right down to my bones, burning through every cell in my body. Hate can make you do and say things you'd never think you could, just like love. I was so angry...I didn't care who it hurt. I used my digimon as a weapon for my hate, as an expression of all the anger I felt. I used him.

But hate alone wasn't enough. Megridramon, the incarnation of all the hatred I had inside me, was beaten. My hate couldn't win out. It never can. As I began to come to my senses I was horrified at what I had felt, at what I had wanted to do, and how all of it made me feel down to my core. I have never felt anywhere near as bad as I did when I let myself be ruled by my hatred. Even to this day I'm not sure how I did it, but I let it all go. I couldn't stand having those feelings inside my head. But as my anger faded and I remembered that my digimon was my friend and not just a weapon, I chose to face my own mortality instead of running from it. That's when Guilmon and I became one. When I was ready to fight for real, I was able to.

Yeah, that moment really changed me. It was one of those times in your life that you'll remember forever. By comparison, all that's happened since then seems pretty dull. I went back to school and everything was normal. I never got up the nerve again to tell Jeri how I felt about her after I spilled my guts to the D-Reaper's doppelganger on the train. Life moved on normally until I found a way to get back to the Digital World. Nobody else wanted to come; they all said I was nuts. Or maybe they did want to come but just knew better. Now I know better too, or at least I hope I do. I wound up getting stuck there for months, lost, looking for Guilmon pretty much the whole time. It was pure luck that Ryo... nah. No need to go into that. Even I don't understand all that happened. The point is I got back home.

Life was back to normal. Days stretched into weeks and then into months. My parents decided to move about two years after everything happened with the digimon. That was a fun summer, but it was a little sad too knowing I'd only see my best friends two or three times a year from then on. Before long it was even less than that. I used to tell myself that when I moved out I'd go back to West Shinjuku, but I didn't. I used to think we might all end up going to college together. We didn't. I only went for a couple years, but I want to go back and finish. Maybe then I'll be able to get work as a cartoonist. Maybe then I'll get any work besides what I'm doing. Working at my parents' bakery is nice and all, but it feels like I'm still getting an allowance for doing the work that used to be part of my daily chores. Jeez. Maybe I haven't grown up as much as I thought.

I guess I could call the old gang up. It's not like it'd be so hard. I know I've lost a few of their numbers, but I'm sure I have Henry's, and he's probably got the rest. Or maybe I should just forget it. After all, it's not like any of them have tried calling me. I think I'll just take a couple days off. Clear my head. Maybe spend a little time at the beach. Yeah, I could visit with my cousin, Kai. The sand, the surf and the sun. I can tell why he likes it so much down there. I can call Henry when I get back if I feel like it.

Sometimes I wonder what Guilmon and the others are up to now. I bet they're just living it up in the Digital World. It was kind of weird there, but as long as the D-Reaper is gone and the Sovereign's not trying to kill you, I bet it's pretty nice. Guilmon probably doesn't have a care in the world, while I'm stuck here in this world, in this town, working in my parents' bakery, waiting for weekly rejection letters from every print publisher under the sun. Even the cultural wasteland that is the Internet spits my comic strips back at me. Of course I can't be sure of what Guilmon's life is like. There's no way to find out for sure. I've lost track of him just like I've lost track of my old human friends. It's not quite the same, but still... Maybe this is what growing up is all about, or at least it's a big part of it. Losing old friends, making new ones...people coming and going on life's stage. Maybe the real test of how grown up you are is if you still miss those old friends. If that's so, then I guess I am growing up, even if I don't really want to.

I think I've been thinking too much about all this. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm not the dumbest either. I am smart enough to know one key thing though: I'm not going to figure all of it out. I've met a lot of smart guys out there who still don't get that much. Am I going to figure out all this growing up business? Probably not. If I am, I certainly can't choose when. The same is true for everything, I think. All I can really do is to try to make myself happy in the meantime.

You know...maybe I will give Henry that call.

**Day 48**

It was a nice day out. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze, just enough to offset the summer heat. In Davis' mind there were worse places to be stuck than on the sidewalk leaning against the car he'd borrowed from his sister. He watched as people passed him by, making sure to at least check out almost every girl that went past. He would check his watch every once in a while, and there was a space of half an hour when he decided to lay on the hood of the car with his shirt off to work on his tan.

He had been there for over an hour when another car pulled up and parked in front of him. Davis didn't really give much notice until the driver stepped out and called his name.

"Davis?"

Davis turned his head. "Yo, Matt! What's up?"

"Nothin'. What are you doing down here?"

"Givin' Kari a ride."

"Kari? She's here?"

"Yeah."

"In my brother's apartment?"

"Yep."

"With him?"

"Bingo."

"Do you really not see where I'm going with this?"

"Not really."

"Don't you think something just might happen?"

"Like what?"

"You have broken up with a girl before, right?"

"They usually break up with me," Davis said sheepishly.

"Well have you ever bumped into them afterwards?"

Davis thought about it for a minute.

"...Ohhh," he finally said. "You think they might backslide?"

"Backslide?"

"What's wrong with that? I think it'd be great if they got back together."

"No they...you do?"

"Yeah. They're perfect for each other."

Matt didn't say anything for a second. He just eyed Davis carefully. His eyes, his smile, his stance...he was being totally honest.

"Anyway," Matt said, shaking his head, "I don't think they'll backslide."

"Then what?"

"They're going to have a fight."

"You think so?"

"It's the surest bet I've ever heard of."

"No, no, no. Kari said she just wanted to come over here to talk with him."

"Think about it. When people break up, they fight. I don't care who you are, it always happens. Have you seen them go at it yet?"

"...No."

"Me neither. TK hasn't mentioned any fight with her. Just think how much everything they've been going through has been building up in their minds. They've both just been getting angrier since they broke up. It's gotta explode sooner or later. And trust me, the sooner the better."

"I don't think so." Davis shook his head. "Neither of them is really like that. Can you think of a time you've seen either of them get really mad?"

"Can you?"

"Nope. Not..." Davis stopped to think. He hadn't seen it himself, but he could remember hearing about something that happened back when they were kids, when Ken was still calling himself the Digimon Emperor. It was right around the time that Kimeramon came onto the scene. Apparently TK found himself alone with Ken in a room without windows and unleashed the beast all over his face.

"Okay, maybe TK can be pushed to fight. But come on, Kari?"

"Okay, so she's not really the type to do a lot of screaming. But she's seemed different lately. You can't tell me you would have ever expected her to break up with TK in the first place."

"I guess not."

"So if she's willing to go that far, is it such a stretch to imagine they would have a big fight?"

"Maybe. But still..."

"Alright, I give up. You just wait here while I go up and make sure everything's fine."

"Okay! Have fun!"

Davis went back to working on his tan while Matt made his way upstairs.

The village of Kalu had grown into a city of sorts in only a few days. By now most of the town's new residents had to resort to sleeping outdoors rather than in the already overcrowded buildings. Of course if a few nights sleeping under the open sky was as rough as they had it in the near future, they would all gladly accept such a fate.

The town's main plaza had been converted into an outdoor cafeteria, with most of the tables being made from whatever debris could be pounded together into a flat surface, mostly wooden slats taken off destroyed buildings. The chairs were whatever you could find to sit on. Sure, it wasn't exactly a five-star, black tie, piano-playing, wine-spitting affair, but as the only show in town, it attracted a huge crowd around the clock.

One of the smaller tables, sandwiched between a gang of Allomon and a ravenous mound of Kiwimon, was occupied by a pair of digimon and one human.

"Wow. I really stand out like a sore thumb," Ryo said as he looked around.

"Forget about it," Gomamon said quickly in between bites.

"Everyone here has only one thing on their minds," Biyomon said as she pecked at a piece of corn on the cob. "I'd think the 'Legendary Tamer' would know by now that food comes first."

Ryo smiled. "Good point."

"Ryo!" he heard Guilmon calling.

"Guilmon? We're over here!"

Guilmon appeared from behind a Tyrannomon a moment later with Terriermon riding on his head. "Thank goodness!" Guilmon huffed. "I thought we'd never see you again in this crowd."

"Wow Ryo, lookin' sharp," Terriermon commented. "Where'd you get the strylin' threads?"

Ryo looked down at his new outfit, which included some very baggy cloth pants, a T-shirt patched together from some of the clothes he'd worn out during his journey, a pair of heavy leather gloves, and what looked like a Gazimon fur vest, in addition to his old red scarf and his sneakers, now nearly worn through the soles.

"A little gift from a new friend," Ryo explained. "That Sepikmon does good work."

"At least on clothes," said Biyomon. "I hear he's been splitting his time between stitching seems and stitching wounds lately. I heard a Gabumon walked out of the hospital the other day with cufflink holes and a few new pockets."

"On his fur, I hope," Terriermon said as he stepped off Guilmon's head and onto the table. "So what's on the menu?"

"Stew," said Ryo.

"What kind?"

"Every kind. Just depends on what part of the pot they scoop it out of."

"I got fish heads in mine!" Gomamon said happily."

"And I got some corn," said Biyomon.

"I found leaves," said Ryo.

"Luck of the draw then," said Terriermon. "I only wish it wasn't the same thing they've had every meal since we've been here."

Guilmon fell over. "No more ewie-gooey-stewie."

"I'm with dino-breath," said Terriermon. "Right now I'd give just about anything for a chocolate cake."

"Or a cookie..." said Guilmon.

"Or a hotdog..."

"Or a jar of peanut-butter..."

"Or a—"

"Or some earplugs," Ryo interrupted.

"We're just hungry is all..." said Terriermon.

Ryo sighed, rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. "Just don't go spreading it around what I nice guy I am," he said with a grin. When no one was looking he discretely tossed Guilmon and Terriermon each half a chocolate-chip cookie. Sure enough the treats were gone in the blink of an eye. Terriermon licked his fingers and rubbed his tummy while Guilmon savored the flavor on his tongue.

"I knew I should have saved a few more cookies for just such an emergency," said Ryo.

'There they are," Ryo heard a gruff voice say from behind him. He turned and saw Gargomon and Wendigomon.

"Hey guys!" he said with a wave. "Come on, take a seat!"

"You bet," said Gargomon.

"Hurry up!" Wendigmon called back to someone.

As Gargomon and Wendigomon made their way to the table, the third member of their part appeared, flying in the narrow spaces between digimon, nearly getting stepped on by the larger ones and getting hit with food tossed around by the smaller ones. It was Tentomon.

"Join the party!" Ryo said warmly.

"Tentomon!" Biyomon and Gomamon shouted.

"Well if it isn't Biyomon and Gomamon. Long time no see!"

"You guys know each other?" asked Terriermon.

"We sure do," said Biyomon.

"Not that you'd know it from how we've been for the past few years," said Tentomon.

"Gee, I hope there's no hard feelings," said Gomamon.

"Sorry we drifted apart like that, Tentomon," said Biyomon. "Forgive us?"

"Well I'm not sure about that..."

"You can have the rest of my stew if you'd like."

"Well if you're going to put it like that, then of course you're forgiven!"

"So are you a DigiDestined digimon too, then?" asked Ryo.

"As a matter of fact, I am," said Tentomon. "Hmm...curious. If I didn't know any better I would swear you were human."

"Actually, I am. Ryo Akiyama, at your service."

"You're THE Ryo Akiyama?"

"I take it you've heard of me."

"I've been across the face of the Digital World, corner to corner, and everywhere I've been I've heard stories about you. Seems you've been busy."

"I'm sure a lot of it is exaggeration."

"That's a lot of traveling," Gomamon noted as Tentomon laid into Biyomon's meal. "Just what have you been doing that's been taking you all over the place like that?"

"Newspaper slurp reporting. Keeps me gulp busy. See the world, sip hear fascinating stories."

"Really? Any chance you've been to the west lately?"

"As a matter of fact I have."

"Did you happen to cover a story about a bombing in Snowy Ridge?"

"Actually I heard about that. Why? Do you know something?"

"You could say that."

"We were the ones that did it..." said Biyomon.

"What?!" Tentomon spit out a mouthful of stew. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"We had no choice," Biyomon explained. "We learned about what was really going on there months ago."

"Really going on?"

"They were making—"

"Weapons," Ryo cut in. "I know, I found them. And the two nasty demon digimon that were in charge there."

"We tried telling everyone we could," Biyomon went on. "A few people agreed to investigate, but they found nothing. Most were too busy worrying about that Yashamon character who was killing innocent digimon at the time."

"Tell me about it," Wendigomon nodded.

"Anyway, we knew we had to do something. We had to shut down their production line, or at least slow them down a little. After we got some help from a few...unsavory characters, we had the bomb ready."

"We went in at night, when the plant was at minimum staffing," Gomamon said. "I was in charge of keeping our escape route clear while Biyomon planted the bomb herself. The way she tells it, it was a pretty intense escape. After that we ran into Gargomon and Wendigomon."

"They told us their story, which just confirmed our suspicions about that town," said Gargomon. "Things haven't been quite right there for years. Anyway, we agreed to help them get out of Dodge, so to speak. We tried lying low here in the south, but the troubles caught up to us eventually."

"We haven't heard much about that place since the night we made our move," Biyomon explained. "So could you tell us what's happened? Did our plan work?"

"It was treated as a terrorist attack," said Tentomon. "That place has some pretty tricky spokesmon, because it's you that the police are looking for. Snowy Ridge itself has been under martial law since the attack. No one gets in or out."

"That sounds about right," said Ryo. "I had to deal with a bit of resistance when I paid that place a visit. But I though I'd taken care of most of their forces there."

"I doubt they would leave their hardware just lying around after you'd left," said Wendigomon. "If they're preparing for a war, then they'll want every advantage they can get."

"Then let's just hope this attack that Omnimon has planned works," said Ryo. "If we break their powerbase here, the rest of their forces should fall like a house of cards.

"If you say so," said Terriermon.

Some time after Matt had gone upstairs Davis had taken a break from his tan and took refuge from the heat inside his car. The AC had decided to work today and Davis couldn't be happier. It was blowing so loud that Davis didn't even notice Kari approach him until she knocked on the window.

"Davis? Could you let me in?"

Davis jumped back to reality. "Sure!" He quickly reached over and unlocked the door for her. She got in and sat down.

"How'd it go?" Davis asked.

Now, to anyone else it would have been pretty obvious how it had gone. Kari's smeared mascara and puffy eyes told half the story while her fading frown told the other half.

"Bad. I don't want to talk about it."

"So..." Davis searched frantically for something to say. "Wanna grab a bite? I just heard about this sweet pizza place downtown where that old dry-cleaning place used to be. You know the one? Had those flags out front. They got a whipped-cream stain off my lucky silk boxers after that one hazing ritual in college. Dude, that was such a blast! Did I ever tell you about that? I'm sure I did. Wait, weren't you there? Yeah, I think you were. You and TK were passing by or something on a date and I jumped out of that tree wearing just my boxers and all that whipped-cream. Hah! The legend of the whipped-cream man lives on, thanks to me! I can still remember the look on Ken's face when I came back to the dorm room at three in the morning covered in whipped-cream! Dude, I thought he was gonna kill me! Boy am I glad he just went back to sleep. He sure had a great big laugh over it the next morning though. Hey! That reminds me, Ken called the other day. I think Yolei wants to get together to talk about the wedding or something. Anyway, Ken says there's this great new pizza place downtown where there used to be a—"

"Dry-cleaner?" Kari interrupted.

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

Kari didn't respond, she just laughed. Davis got the joke a few seconds later and started laughing himself. Somehow, Davis just had that kind of power. He could brighten anyone's day. And Kari sure could use it.

After their good laugh started to die down, Davis finally spoke up again. "So... you good?"

"More or less. But TK...I don't think the two of us are going to be good for a while."

"Now what kinda thing is that to say? It'll get better if you just work at it! If you just give up you won't get anywhere, and I don't think you two want to be stuck where you are."

Davis was also persistent. No matter what you never could keep him down. He was practically the personification of the "falling off a horse" cliché, both in the falling and in getting back up again.

"I don't think TK even likes me anymore. The way he looked at me today...it's almost like he hates me."

"HEY!" Davis shouted. "Now that's just a lie! You guys might not be getting along so good right now, but he DOESN'T hate you! No one could!"

"But I couldn't blame him if he did. I hurt him so much. Besides, what could he see in me in the first place?"

"What could he see in you? Are you kidding me? You're the most beautiful girl in the whole world! You're smart, but not nerdy-smart! You love everyone and everything! You're the nicest girl I've ever met and no one's heart is bigger than yours! You're perfect, Kari! How could he want you? More like how could he DESERVE you?!"

"Do you really think all those things?" Kari asked.

"Of course! Every last word of it's the truth!" That was when Davis realized just what he'd been saying. In the space of less than thirty seconds he'd gone from the maturing, 22-year-old Davis he was finally getting used to, to that twelve-year-old boy with a hopeless crush. "I mean...ya know...I guess."

Davis quickly looked away and shut his mouth tight. Judging by how things had gone the last time he'd confessed his undying love for her, things were about to get ugly.

"Sorry," he said without looking back at her. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just you were getting so down on yourself. I don't want you to do that. You and TK...are some of the best friends I've ever had. I'm sorry you guys broke up, I'm sorry for what I said just now. But I did mean it...except the deserving part. You two are great for each other and I just don't know how you could do this to yourselves. I always thought that if I got you I'd never, EVER let you go; I'd do anything to make you happy and I'd think TK would do the same thing for you but somehow it just wasn't enough or you just couldn't accept that kind of happiness because you just don't feel right about it or you're not sure what you want right now, and that's perfectly alright because I don't have any idea either what with my career going all over the board and college over with and some friends getting married while others are moving back in with their parents and I wish I could figure it all out but I just can't and I realize that even though I don't have the answers I'm still having a blast because that's just the only way I've ever known how to live but it's not like I can just tell you to get over your problems because I don't know what it's like to go through something like that but I..."

Davis' rambling slowed to an uneasy stop as he felt Kari place her arms around his neck. "...K-Kari?"

"Thank you..." she said.

Davis could have just left it at that, but he didn't. "For what?" he asked, still looking straight ahead.

"For saying all those wonderful things. But you were still wrong."

"But I—"

"The one with the biggest heart is you."

"...Oh." A slight smile crossed his face.

"Every day since I first met you, I've seen it in everything you do," she went on. "No matter what you were up against you never lost your courage, your passion. Even when the rest of us were too scared to even move when we faced MaloMyotismon you didn't even bat an eye. You brought us all together again. And no matter what you never let yourself get discouraged. You've still held onto those feelings for me for all this time, and even after all the times I shot you down you still just got right back up again. You make everyone around you happier, better people, just for being there. Even when we were all ready to give up on Ken you gave him a chance. You waited in line all night to get your sister concert tickets for her birthday."

"You heard about that?"

"You took me to the prom when TK had to visit his grandmother and when I passed out from drinking the spiked punch you were there for me. When I was attacked by that guy a few weeks ago you left work to come right down and didn't give the consequences a second thought. When TK and I broke up you gave me a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on, you picked me up when I was down and never abandoned me. You've never looked down on me, never seen me as anything less than your equal, and always gave me every bit of credit I've deserved and then some. You never protected me like I was a child, but like I was a friend. Davis, you have more heart than anyone in the world. I don't deserve a friend like you...but I'd still like to try for more."

Davis was quiet. He had to process it all for a few seconds before he got to the last part. He quickly turned his head to her. "Huh?"

Kari leaned in even closer and kissed him square on the mouth. Davis was so stunned he couldn't even kiss back. She pulled away after only a moment. It was short, but so completely perfect. For Davis, the moment that he had built up in his head for over a decade had turned out to be...very plain. The kiss was pretty unremarkable, but he just couldn't stop smiling.

"We should talk about this," said Kari.

Davis still grinned like an idiot, but did eventually manage to form words. "Over pizza?"

Kari smiled back. "Absolutely."


	32. Apprentice

**Day 49**

"Hear me, sinners!" a booming voice rose above the din. "The end of our days is finally at hand! The war of the D-Reaper! The Second Coming of Protomon! The false Sovereign Omnimon! The troubles that even now threaten to swallow us all! These are merely signs of the looming disaster just over the horizon! Deception! Corruption! Destruction! These are the forces that have railed against us! We are weakened, and the greatest darkness of all may be only days away! Be afraid and repent! Gluttons! Warmongers! Fornicators! Not one among you shall survive! Even the highest of priests and sages, with all their seeming of inner peace, will suffer in the eternity of darkness that may strike this very nightfall!"

This digimon was attracting quite a crowd. Of course, it was a very busy street in one of the larger cities of the north. Some digimon walked by without giving him much thought. Others sped up as they passed and still others openly mocked the little show, but a large group had actually stopped in the middle of the street, either out of real concern or minor curiosity.

"Heathens! The old, the young, the strong the weak, the good and the evil shall be sundered with equal and terrible fury by a darkness utterly indiscriminate, utterly devoid of feeling, utterly bent on such destruction as not even death can spare you the pain of! Nothing shall escape the unblinking gaze of the_ Fifth Eye_!"

"Get outta' the street, moron!"

The speaker's eyes flared, but not in response to the digimon that shouted. It seemed he was reaching the next part of his speech.

"I, Doumon, am the only hope any of you have for salvation! Salvation is only offered to a select few willing to transcend all they have ever known here! It is only for those with the strength of will to overcome the horrors that knock at your doors and disturb your dreams! I alone offer you survival! I was once one of those priests who are so content to lie about the approaching darkness, but when I learned the truth I cast off my mantle! I came to do what I could to save you! And for that I was branded as fallen, as a traitor! Well if I must fall to survive and to help you survive, then I welcome it!"

At this point, Doumon, the shadowy version of Taomon, tore away his ceremonial robes, leaving only his monk's hat and baggy pants. His muscular torso and arms were covered with fresh scars, some still bloody. All of them depicted the image of an eye, carved into his flesh at every angle.

"For centuries we have tried to live like tyrants over our world! We have overextended ourselves, so grossly over-satisfying the primal motives of food, fighting and friendship that we have become bored with them! And now look where we are! The great cleansing may come at any moment and none are prepared to face it! None save I! And I can save you!"

"Save us, Doumon!" said the half-dozen followers Doumon had already gathered, who had painted themselves up and down with eyes.

"The evil ways of the world have been apparent to me for too long!" Doumon continued. "Once I wished to destroy it all so that we may start anew! But now, the evil in this world shall take care of that for me! It is the collective evil that all of you have created that threatens you now! It is that evil that none but the chosen may escape! Survival is open to anyone, but it must begin with you! It must begin with a choice! You must choose to come with me or you must choose to remain with the damned! I don't care if you are a great hero and champion of light, a common city-dweller simply trying to live your life, or even if you are the highest order of demon digimon with nothing but destructive intents! None of that shall matter once this world has passed away into the darkest eternity! It is the evil of this world we have built and not the creatures in it that has damned you all! Come to me! Together, we can survive, and create a new world, perfect in form and pure in essence! A world as this one was meant to be before our evils corrupted the purity off it!"

"Why should we believe you?!" shouted someone.

Doumon smiled. "Because I have seen it! I have seen it as surely as the _Eye_ sees you!" He touched the large eye-shaped scar on the center of his chest. "I have seen the words carved in stone! I have seen the signs in my tarot cards, in the weather, in the disasters that tear our world apart more and more each day! I have seen the dead canyon and the temple in my dreams! I see the fire whenever I shut my eyes! And soon I shall see the _Eye_ itself when my followers and I go to confront the evil we have all given birth to one last time before we abandon this failed experiment in existence. We shall take with us the mark and memory of the eye. We shall never forget it, either while awake or asleep. To forget it is to allow it back in. We shall remember it, and always fight against it in our lives so it may never again come for us in our new, pure world!"

There was a moment of hushed silence throughout the street.

"Now then..." Doumon continued, "who will follow the fallen priest Doumon?! Who will follow the prophet Doumon?! Who among you has the will to survive?!"

Doumon's face lit up as he saw one digimon after another begin to step forward and shout their approval.

The sky was completely clear once again. It was always clear. Blue in the day and black at night. No sun, no moon, no clouds, no rain, no nothing. Suffice to say the creepiness of it was beginning to wear on SaberSetomon. It wasn't exactly like he could keep his mind occupied on something else. He was completely out in the open where he could always see it. There were no enemies to face off against. No nagging questions to mull over. It was just him, the sky and the gradually rising slope of Mount Kalu.

His arms were feeling a little better every day since he tried to keep off them, but it did make the going a little slower. Even now he was only about half way up the mountainside and it would only get steeper. There were a few scrawny trees to be seen and some patches of desert grass, but most of the walk had been made on dirt and rocks. He took whatever food and water he could find along the way and rested whenever the blisters on his feet hurt too much to allow him to continue. By now a general feeling of numbness was setting in. He didn't give much thought to anything, ignoring both physical and mental pains. At least it was peaceful.

There were a couple of times that SaberSetomon's mind set down a path. What was SamuSetomon doing? Was the war about to start? What of his alter-ego, the human? Before he could get too deep into anything his train of thought would just peter out and he'd be back to the feeling of numbness. At least the feeling gave him some time to rest his mind. With all that had happened to him over the short span of his life it was really no surprise to find himself suffering from profound mental exhaustion.

As he took a short break to rest his weary feet he looked to the north. The wasteland seemed impregnable, like a giant moat surrounding the Destroyer's keep. But as things escalated the desert would have to be breached. That is where his goal lay, but for the time being he was following Omnimon's advice and scaling the mountain. Whatever help he found here, he hoped would make the trip worth his while.

Suddenly he turned his head to look into a patch of thorny brambles behind him. He heard a sound. He was not alone. The only question was what to do. Should he pretend to ignore it and lure whatever it was into a false sense of security? Or should he try to sneak up on it? Or he could make his move as fast as he could and catch it off guard. Naturally he chose the latter.

"Hyaaa!" he screamed as he thrust his claw through the brambles and tried to grab whatever it was. But all he hit was the stone cliff face. "Yeowch!"

SaberSetomon withdrew his hand and rubbed away the soreness, but as he did he heard some pebbles falling down the mountainside above him. Whatever it was, it was on the move. He couldn't let it get away, so with a mighty lunge he hurled himself up the cliff and grabbed a small outcropping in his paw. He pulled himself up and grabbed another protrusion in his free claw while his toes gripped the rock for traction. In this way he scaled the nearly vertical cliff for close to fifty feet, constantly pestered by gravel pelting him from overhead. It got easier when he found his way to a crack in the cliff that was wide enough for him to fit in. Pushing against both sides he began to rapidly gain ground on his prey, and before he knew it he came to a ledge. He stretched his elbow up over the side and used it to drag the rest of his great bulk up onto the landing. After a few deep breaths he looked up and around.

Before him he found an entrance to a cave, largely obscured by a few boulders and dense foliage. There was his prey, waiting for him at the entrance. It was very...small. The odd-looking digimon, if it even was a digimon, stood no more than two feet high. It had great big floppy ears and coal-black eyes. Strange purple designs adorned its golden body as did a strange red triangle on its forehead. It also had a broad smile and some strange antenna-like tentacles on its face; its whole body glowed with a strange aura.

SaberSetomon could only stare at the creature for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and dove for it with his claws outstretched. It simply jumped back out of the way and he landed on his belly with nothing in his hands but air. He snarled at the creature as it took flight on its ears and turned toward the cave. SaberSetomon scrambled to his feet and quickly pursued the creature, but he had trouble getting around the plants and rocks guarding the entrance, and even when he got inside he had trouble with the rapidly-growing darkness. Very shortly the only light he could see came from the creature itself, and with its speed he was easily out-maneuvered. However, still as bullheaded as ever, SaberSetomon charged deeper and deeper into the cave.

Passing around corners and through a few chambers, tripping over stones and stepping in puddles, and trying to find his way to the right path in total darkness was quickly making him question the value of going after the creature any further, but going out wouldn't be any easier than coming in had been, so he pressed on. Forging even deeper into the black chasm, he sensed he had entered a large chamber. There was more of an echo from every step and he could hear water dripping a fair distance away. He felt around him and found the ceiling to be higher than in the tunnels and he couldn't even feel the walls immediately around him. Now was the time to be especially careful.

He took a few tenuous steps forward and listened. He could swear there was something else to this place. Then he saw it. The creature appeared from behind a stalagmite about twenty feet ahead of him. He wasn't about to charge again after the failure of his last two attempts. Now he took it nice and easy, using the creature's light to guide him over the uneven terrain. Suddenly he felt something graze his shoulder and he swung his whole arm wildly to the left, but he hit nothing. Instead he saw another of the creatures floating behind him with the same grin on its face. He didn't like this. For all he knew he was surrounded by dozens of them.

The one right in front of his face drew in very close, looking him straight in the eyes. And as he stood there, locking eyes with the creature, he started to get a strange feeling from it. He wasn't quite sure what to think, but something told him they weren't hostile. Slowly, very slowly, he relaxed his arms and loosened his muscles. The creature backed off and then flew over his head to join the other one. The two of them gave each other a quick nod and flew on ahead. SaberSetomon stood still for a moment in the darkness before he started to walk after them.

SaberSetomon hadn't walked ten feet when he felt the presence of something else in the room, something a lot bigger than the glowing creatures. Its smell was everywhere, and he could hear its low, rumbling breathing. He couldn't figure out how he had missed the signs before. His muscles immediately tensed and he focused all his senses around him, but he couldn't tell what or where it was.

"I know you're here!" he shouted into the darkness.

There was no response other than his own echo. SaberSetomon started to sweat. For all he knew this new threat was dangerous enough in a fair fight. In the darkness like this he might be hopelessly outmatched. He heard a rock fall behind him and the instant he turned his head he knew it was a mistake. Something grabbed his face and shoved him right down on his back with the force of a freight train. Before he could even blink his arms were pinned and he felt a great weight on top of him with a body that was easily more than twice the size of his own.

"Who are you?" a voice growled not three inches from his face.

SaberSetomon tried to break free, but it was hopeless. The creature's strength was just too much. He could feel its hot breath on his face as it drew even closer.

"SaberSetomon," he finally spat out, his face still pressed against the rock.

Without warning the creature lifted completely off him. SaberSetomon was free and he didn't waste an instant in getting up and into a fighting stance. It was a good thing he did because something long and heavy came swinging at him from his side. He ducked under it and felt its great mass swing over his head. It came back again but this time he blocked its blow with his huge forearms. Still, the sheer strength of it was enough to send him sailing. He hit the ground on his back a few feet away and instantly rolled up onto his feet again. But all was once again silent and still.

"Why are you here?" the voice growled from frighteningly close by.

Before SaberSetomon could even respond he was sucker-punched in the gut by a large, clawed fist. He doubled over in pain, but when the fist came for his head he still had the good sense to roll over and out of the way. Again the fist lashed out at him but this time he reached up with both hands and caught the blow. The rock below him cracked and the already weak bones in his arms nearly gave out, but somehow he held strong.

"Omnimon sent me..." he winced.

The creature vanished into the darkness again. SaberSetomon took a short breather before returning to his feet. He had definitely been right about this being an unfair fight.

The voice growled again, only a single word. "Why?"

A hurricane-force gust of wind suddenly whipped through the cave. SaberSetomon shielded his eyes but was tossed through the air and landed hard against a wall. The wind died down and he fell on his stomach.

"I...I..." he tried to cough out.

The beast loomed over him again but SaberSetomon could do nothing. It grabbed him by the loose skin on his neck and slammed him head-first into the ceiling, crushing the rock and opening his skin enough to send streams of blood down his face.

"Answer me..."

It tossed him to the ground again. SaberSetomon struggled to get back to his feet when another immense gust of wind sprung up. He dug each of his claws into the rock as deep as he could and did his best to weather the brute force of it. The gust of wind only continued for a few seconds, and when it passed SaberSetomon could finally answer.

"So I can help fight the Destroyer." His spit out some of his own blood.

Silence again. SaberSetomon didn't even bother getting back up this time. He knew he'd go right back down again soon enough.

"Why fight?"

SaberSetomon could practically hear the punch coming. This time he was ready for it. He lifted his arm up to block, and it worked. It was too bad he didn't see the second attack coming. It caught him under the chin and sent him bending over backwards with another open wound on his head. He jumped up to his feet right away and made a quick strategy adjustment. In other words, he ran like hell. That didn't help much though as he was quickly clothes-lined by the creature and once again found himself on his back.

You are blind in the darkness," the creature growled.

SaberSetomon felt it stomp his chest under its heavy foot.

"You suffer in battle."

Another stomp.

"You are too weak to fight me in my world."

One more stomp.

"How will you fight the Destroyer in his?"

This time the creature stepped down on SaberSetomon's throat. SaberSetomon quickly grabbed its foot in both hands and tried pushing it off him.

"I fight..." he gasped, "to win. To stop the Destroyer."

"No."

It stepped off his neck, but the relief didn't last long. It grabbed him by the chest, sinking its claws deep into his muscle. SaberSetomon screamed, but tried to bite down and bear it. The beast picked him up off the ground and threw him back into the wall. A few stiff punches later and SaberSetomon couldn't even stand anymore. A kick to the face dropped him like a rock.

"You are too weak to win. So why do you fight?"

SaberSetomon's eyes opened. "I fight..." He tightened his fists. He could hear, feel, smell and even taste his opponent standing before him, totally off his guard. He bore his fangs. "...Because win or lose..." The legs in his muscles tightened. His back flexed. A spark burst into a full flame around his fists. He pushed off the rock wall and struck the mightiest blow he could muster with his Inferno Fist, knocking the monster back off its feet and up against a natural stone pillar. SaberSetomon collapsed to the ground again, saying, "...I want the fighting to end."

All was silent and dark once more. SaberSetomon knew he didn't have anything left. He'd been in this situation too many times to care about it any more. If this was his time, then let it come.

"Yes," said the creature.

It didn't come. Instead, the beast reached down and carefully lifted him to his feet. When it realized he couldn't stand, it simply carried him by the skin on his neck. SaberSetomon was only mildly aware of what was going on, but as he started to realize he wasn't about to die, he started to pay attention again. The creature was carrying him down the passage that the glowing creatures had taken, up a steep incline. Past a few curves and steep climbs, he started to see light ahead. He found himself exiting the dark passages and coming out into a conical chamber with a high ceiling.

"Welcome to the Chamber of the Catalyst, kid," said the creature's voice, which SaberSetomon now found to be more aged than angry.

SaberSetomon looked around. The walls were all stone, but there were reddish crystals all over the place, jutting out of the walls and ground, some simply lying there. In the center of the room was a stone formation like a giant stalagmite. It was completely covered with the crystals, which were not always rigid with sharp angles. Indeed, they seemed to all come together in a beautiful formation. Water dripped from the ceiling onto the crystal tower, pooling in a small crevice near the top. From there more drops filtered through the system, and every now and then a drop or two would fall from the crystals bearing a strange luminescence. It was stunning.

The creature holding SaberSetomon lowered him gently to the ground and he started to feel his strength returning, or at least enough of it to stand on his own. He took a shaky step forward and looked up in wonder at the grandeur of this natural wonder. He saw the two glowing creatures from the caves perched on rocky ledges above him. As he looked, more of them appeared all over the place, all looking down at him from their lofty positions. Their glow reflected off the crystals and bathed the entire room in a strange light.

"Wow..." was all SaberSetomon could bring himself to say.

He turned to look at the creature that had brought him up here, but it had withdrawn into the shadows.

"You are determined," it said to him. "I'll give you that much. You also seem to know why you have to fight. But without the means and the mind, that won't do you any good."

One of the glowing creatures jumped from its perch and soared gently down to SaberSetomon. This one was different, as atop its head it wore an old white hat. It looked at SaberSetomon carefully and he looked back. It inspected him up and down, and when it was finished it seemed to find something repulsive about him, as it withdrew quickly.

"They find you to be impure, somehow," said the larger beast. "I smell it too. It's something inside you, but I don't think it's part of you."

The glowing one gave what seemed to be an assenting nod. The crest on its head began to glow more intensely than before. SaberSetomon felt a strong tingling sensation inside his chest. But it didn't hurt. Somehow it felt like it should hurt, but it was like the pain was being drawn away from him. As he watched his body a red glow appeared in his chest. The immense weight that ran throughout his body seemed to all be drawn together. It felt like everything wrong was being drawn up through his veins right into his heart, and when it was all amassed there like a balled fist, it pushed right up against his ribcage, against his skin and then without any pain, without even breaking the skin, the mass exited his body. It hovered there, between him and the glowing creature. SaberSetomon could see it. It was the sum of all his suffering. Every last pain he'd endured was there before him in a black sphere wrapped in fire. It had the foul stench of Amadeus all over it. It was the stench of the Destroyer.

"When I digivolved to Ultimate, he did something to me," said SaberSetomon. "Is that it?"

"And then some," said the beast behind him. "Now it's up to you. Deal with this."

SaberSetomon looked down at himself. He felt so light all of a sudden. Almost as if he was somehow too small for his own body. He looked at the sphere. It was black and wrapped in fire. It was evil and painful. He saw in it a simple truth. If he didn't want to go through that pain he wouldn't have to. It was all stuff that he'd done to himself. He wouldn't put up with it anymore, not when he knew he had it within himself to be happy. It was a matter of choice. From now on he chose to be happy.

He raised his fists and brought them together above his head. He brought his massive hands down on the sphere as one with a terrible yell that shook the very mountain. The evil influence was utterly smashed. The glowing creature smiled again and returned to its position high above.

"That takes care of your mind I suppose," said the beast. "Now you need the means."

"Huh?"

"Lay your hands on the crystals. The DigiGnomes and the catalyst will do the rest."

SaberSetomon wasn't quite sure what to make of this. Nevertheless, he chose to trust their intentions in light of what they had just done with him. Besides, if they had wanted to kill him they could have done it already, back in the darkest part of the cave. He moved up to the pillar in the center of the room, surprised at his own lightness. He held his hands up at his side and hesitated. The crystals seemed very delicate, so he placed his hands on them as gently as he could. He then heard a single pure tone arise from above him. Looking up, he saw that one of the creatures, what the beast had called DigiGnomes, appeared to be singing. Then another one chimed in with a slightly different tone. Then another one. And yet another one. Soon, each and every DigiGnome had joined in the flawless choir. It was a wonderful sound, and the crystals seemed to agree, as their red color quickly became more intense and they started to glow themselves. The crests on the DigiGnomes' foreheads glowed to match, and their song reverberated throughout the entire room. SaberSetomon saw deeper into the crystals. They grew more complex and beautiful with each moment. The way the light danced within their structures, it was almost as if each facet contained a world of its own.

The DigiGnomes. The crystals. SaberSetomon. All of them were one being for the briefest of moments. And then as suddenly as it had come, the feeling left. The DigiGnomes stopped their song. The glow of the crystals faded. SaberSetomon breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes. His body was healed. His body was fresh. His body...had changed. He had digivolved again.

"And now you have the means," said the creature.

He looked at the crystals and how they reflected his image right back at him. A smile crossed his lips. No longer was he a clumsy beast. His new form was perfect. Ideal proportions between his arms and legs. He stood tall and proud, having both a lightness in his frame and great strength at his fingertips. A big barrel chest covered in white fur; muscular, double-jointed legs; domineering shoulders and thick forearms. His white-furred fingers and toes sported deadly black claws. Orange fur ran up and down most of his body. His tail, long with shocking red hair at the end, swished back and forth behind him. The three black stripes on his right shoulder were still there. His face was a lot like it had been before with his yellow eyes, heavy brow and black stripes around his eyes. His long fangs were gone but he still had a snaggletooth on either side. The red mane atop his head was thicker than ever, but was still spiked to within an inch of its life; just a few strands hung over his eyes. On either side of his head his ears stuck out just as before, seemingly unchanged from when he was SaberSetomon. His earrings, however, had upgraded from iron to gold. And now he had more to rely on than his strength. Slung around his chest was a leather belt that hooked in with two other belts that went around his waist at a bronze buckle on his right hip. Attached to the back of the belt around his torso was a leather sheath containing a heavy sword. The hilt was bronze-plated steel with a red fur grip. The blade itself was as wide as the greatest extension of the hilt, about eight inches across, but it was only about as long as its owner's hand and forearm. The way it reflected the light suggested it was made from chrome-digizoid. He wore a leather glove on his right paw; it didn't have fingers and judging from the steel studs over the knuckles it was more for attack than defense. The belts around his waist were there to hold up the blue jeans he wore, which were torn at the knee; tasteful but functional. He still had the bandage torn from SamuSetomon's shirt wrapped around his left elbow.

"I suppose this is where SamuSetomon and I diverge," he said with a grin. "From now on, call me WarriorSetomon."

"You must think you're pretty hot stuff," said the creature.

"I know I am." WarriorSetomon ran his fingers through his hair.

"You still don't know how to fight. And something tells me I don't have enough time to teach you."

WarriorSetomon looked puzzled. "You...want to teach me? Then what was all that back there?"

"Intruders are not welcome here. I only decided to let you live after you said Omnimon had sent you. If he really does want me to teach you how to fight the Destroyer, I needed to find out what I had to work with."

"But did you have to go so rough on me?"

"Believe me, kid. If you thought that was hard, you won't last very long against this Destroyer character."

"Then this training of yours..."

"...Won't be easy. If you're going to back out, do it now. After we start it's only going to get tougher."

"Well, I haven't come this far to back off now."

"I suppose it has been a while since I had a good challenge. And judging from how you fought back there, this really will be a challenge."

"Har, har. Now if you're about done, how about stepping out here so we can have a real introduction?"

"Fair enough." The creature stepped into the light. It was clearly male from its voice and bearing, and it was very muscular. WarriorSetomon's original estimate of how large he was turned out to be exaggerated, as the digimon's great wings roughly doubled its seeming size. Still, he was very muscular and wore a few scraps of chrome-digizoid armor. It looked like he was a really powerful warrior, or at least was once. His skin was dull. His blue-green eyes had lost their sheen. His muscles were lacking some of their former tautness. This was a digimon past his prime.

"My name is Bahadramon," he said in a voice that sounded as old as he looked. "I have guarded this sacred place for years. It's part of my...atonement...for a mistake I made in the past. If training you is part of that atonement, I'll gladly accept the responsibility. You just make sure you accept it as well, because I will not go easy on you for even a second. You follow?"

Warrior Setomon smiled. "Yes sir!"

"Excuse me?" asked Bahadramon. "What did you call me?"

"I called you sir, sir."

"I am not a sir! I WORK for a living, maggot! From now on you will NOT call me Bahadramon! You will NOT call me sir! You will not even call me mommy! You will call me Master or Master Bahadramon! DO YOU GET ME?!"

"Yes, Master Bahadramon!"

"Fine work, junior. Now it's time we really start our work. You've got a lot of extra energy to burn off thanks to those crystals, and I intend to make sure you use every ounce of it before bedtime. Let's move, move, move!"

Many miles to the north, over the broken mud expanses and lonely mesas, over the lifeless dunes and dry riverbeds, stood the dominating visage of the Destroyer's stronghold, a series of stone towers, carved from the living rock. Great sweeping supports, smoothly curved passages and enormous ovoid doorways made the whole structure seem organic. The beast's vast armies had surrounded this citadel of evil. Those that could fly circled en mass overhead while the hoard of ground-dwellers had gathered on and around the base of the evil citadel. It wasn't until a very special guest made his appearance through the main entrance that the creatures erupted in a terrible roar of applause.

Beelzemon of course just loved it. Each and every digimon there was eating from his hand. Simply showing his face was enough to drive them into a frenzy. But still, he knew their only real concern was for the terrible beast within the tower that he had come to represent.

As Beelzemon began to address the unholy assembly, another digimon listened intently from just inside the main entrance. Beelzemon was so full of himself. He was extremely lucky too. Just some punk that got lucky once when Zhuqiaomon gave him the power to digivolve, and got even luckier when the Destroyer started looking to rebuild the Demon Corps. He had no appreciation of what it was like to work for power. Even worse, none of them had any real loyalty to the Destroyer. They were all self-serving, making deals to help themselves first and foremost. If they could, they would all turn against him at the first opportunity.

"Luckily, I'm here to keep them in line," the digimon said with a smirk. It rose to its feet and began to walk deeper into the black abyss. The creature in the pit below stirred, but it did not move to attack.

"At least this dumb beast has an excuse for its disloyalty."

Suddenly the room grew darker and the air changed. Dark shadows danced on the walls and the pungent stench of death grew worse.

"Hello, father."

"You doubt me and my choice in servants," the desiccate voice of the Destroyer said without wasting any time. "By that token you are as disloyal as they are. Fortunately, their loyalty is not requisite for their service. I need only fear to keep them in line. And keep in mind that the same applies to you."

"I would never dream of disobeying you. You know that you are everything to me. Without your hand to guide me I would be useless."

"Excellent. Hold onto that fear. It is your fear of losing me and your purpose that keeps you alive."

"But father, this Demon Corps of yours is—"

"Silence!"

The Destroyer's voice boomed throughout every nook and cranny of the citadel. The very foundations trembled in fear of his wrath. The digimon before him did no less.

"I will not be doubted by an INSOLENT child! If you do not wish to be cast out from my sight and forced to live among those pitiful creatures beyond these walls, you will not question my motives for an instant! You are not so dear to me that I would hesitate to let loose the full force of my wrath upon you as punishment for your transgressions!"

The Destroyer's eyes glowed like the sun in the nearly black chamber. His child trembled in fear on the ground, unable to look away from his dominating gaze. Slowly, very slowly, the glow in the Destroyer's eyes lessened.

"Your fear will keep you alive. Do not forget that."

The darkness fled the room and all was quiet again, except for Beelzemon's rant just outside. From then on, no one was safe from the Destroyer's anger.


	33. The Calm

**Day 52**

"The air is brisk this morning," said Angemon.

"A dark wind blows in the south," said GuardiAngemon.

The pair stood on the platform at the entrance to the Ivory Tower, joined by many other digimon, both angelic and common. The sun had yet to rise above the horizon and the sky was rosy, with wispy clouds overhead poised to glow in the glorious sunlight. In spite of the early hour a large crowd had gathered for even the briefest glimpse of Lucemon before his departure.

"How long should it take to reach our destination?" asked Angemon.

"Perhaps a week at the most," said GuardiAngemon, not really paying much attention to him. "It will depend mostly on Lord Lucemon."

"I hope we get there in time."

"My Lord would not move at such an easy pace if he believed it would do our cause any harm. If he so willed it he could move us there this very day."

"He has that power?"

"Lord Lucemon's talents are formidable."

A hush fell over the bustling crowd and all eyes turned toward the great white gates as they slowly started to creak open. As the gates swung to their full extension a procession of HolyKnightmon appeared, marching out in disciplined pairs. After twelve pairs had emerged, splitting the crowd before them, they came to a halt, turned inward, and took three steps backward to create a path down the middle of their ranks. All was perfectly still, save a few digimon in the crowd still clamoring to get a good view. Angemon and GuardiAngemon, standing at the end of the path formed by the HolyKnightmon, turned toward the gates and stood at attention just as the HolyKnightmon had done.

From within appeared the silhouette of Lucemon, walking forward calmly with all twelve wings at full extension around him. A moment later, Angewomon could be seen walking a few paces behind him on his right, and a few paces after her came Goldramon to Lucemon's left. Despite Lucemon's relatively small stature, he was the center of attention. His blue eyes glowed, his blonde hair and white flowing garment were embraced by the morning breeze, and his lonely expression drilled itself into all the onlookers' psyches. As he reached Angemon and GuardiAngemon he looked up at the pair.

"We may depart at you leisure, my Lord," GuardiAngemon said with a low bow.

"Thank you." Lucemon turned to Goldramon. "Friend, I trust thee with the care of my children whilst I am away."

"We have stood strong for an entire age, my Lord," Goldramon said with a similar bow. "We shall not succumb to the forces of darkness now."

Lucemon turned to the HolyKnightmon. "Watch over the digimon of this city. Let their enemies be thine, and do all in thy power to relieve their burdens."

The HolyKnightmon all kneeled before Lucemon in voiceless ascent.

Lucemon then turned to the crowd that had gathered. "As Goldramon doth watch over the HolyKnightmon, and as they do watch over thee, thou shallt watch over this entire land as far as thou may'st. As darkness shall inevitably flee from the light, so too must thy fear flee from thy unity. A thousand of thy voices shall make a stronger one than my solitary speech ever could."

The crowd was silent, but approved.

Lucemon turned back to Angemon and GuardiAngemon. "We may depart."

And so, Lucemon, Angemon, Angewomon, and GuardiAngemon all departed the Ivory Tower. Far in the west though, three more angel digimon were busy with concerns of their own. The three Celestial Digimon, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Antylamon, stood inside the vast library in Angewomon's palace with the few recruits they had managed to find.

"We'll need more troops than this if we want this plan to work," Antylamon said in dismay as he looked at the dozen or so digimon that had arrived.

"At least it's a start," said MagnaAngemon. "Recruits are not easy to come by with so many heading either to or from the south. Many of these digimon only came because of their special connections."

"Special connections?" asked Antylamon.

"That Wizardmon is a close friend of the Angewomon who visited here from the north a few months ago. The Ogremon is a big-shot on File Island, in the east. That Betamon is an agent of the Guardians, usually patrolling the waters around the Dragon Gate."

"And all these connections couldn't bring us even one Ultimate?" asked Antylamon.

"We must work with what is available," said Angewomon, returning from speaking with the new recruits. "We should all adjust to working within our means, and remembering that those means are not what they once were."

"At this rate Virgil's plan will be no more than a joke," said Antylamon. "We should look for other options."

"Precisely what I would suggest," said Angewomon. "Many digimon are in the south now at Omnimon's bequest, but far greater numbers either gave him no heed or have fled as far as they could from the conflict. I am certain that if we can find these reluctant warriors we can convince at least a few of them to join us."

"If they don't want to fight, we can't force them," said MagnaAngemon.

"Of course, but we must try," said Angewomon.

The three were silent for a moment.

"I for one would like our odds a lot more if we were in our Mega forms," said Antylamon.

"Hmm. At least we would stand a fighting chance on our own," MagnaAngemon concurred.

"We might even inspire more digimon to come forward," said Angewomon.

They all sighed.

"What do you think they're talkin' about?" whispered Ogremon.

"I haven't a clue," said Wizardmon.

"They probably don't think there're enough of us," said Betamon.

"Enough for what?" asked Ogremon.

"To fight the Destroyer's army. Master Virgil told me to come here to help them out."

"So why aren't you down south with all the other fighters, Ogremon?" asked Wizardmon. "I'd have thought you'd jump at the opportunity."

"Yeah right. I'm not getting suckered into all that rank-and-file army stuff."

"So then why come here?"

"Do you see an army?"

"I understand."

"Anyway, what about you? I'd think you would be ready to go after this Destroyer guy at a moment's notice."

"It is not my wish to fight, but should it become necessary I will have no choice. I'm here in the hope that Omnimon's army can finish the job, but preparing just in case it can't."

"Then it's settled," said MagnaAngemon after the Celestial Digimon had reached an agreement. "We'll divide these forces between us and head off in different directions to find reinforcements. It's not pretty but I think it's our best chance at being ready."

"You're right. It's not pretty," said Antylamon, shaking his head.

"Why don't you two divide them between yourselves?" suggested Angewomon. "I have something else I need to look into."

"You can't go running off anytime you like," said MagnaAngemon. "We're pressed for time as it is."

"I won't be long and when I'm done I'll follow through with the plan. Besides, I'll be able to move faster on my own."

"And where exactly were you planning on going?" asked Antylamon.

"To see if I can make our wish come true," said Angewomon. "I'm going to the Tiger Gate."

MagnaAngemon and Antylamon exchanged suspicious glances, but after a few moments of consideration, they nodded.

"Just watch yourself out there," said Antylamon. "Don't forget that the darkness is spreading."

"I'll be fine. You just make sure you come back with lots of reinforcements."

"It is agreed," said MagnaAngemon.

All was darkness in the cave where WarriorSetomon trained under Bahadramon. Although they had only been working together for four days, WarriorSetomon had already pushed himself beyond what he thought were his most extreme limits. Every time he fell, Bahadramon picked him up again. Ever time he failed, Bahadramon made him do it again until he got it right.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Bahadramon.

The darkness was impenetrable. WarriorSetomon had to learn how to fight with his other senses. He had to learn how to fight all over again.

"Hesitate and you'll die," said Bahadramon. "The darkness of this cave is natural. Just how dark do you think the Destroyer can make his sanctuary?"

WarriorSetomon followed the sound of the voice and made a quick, decisive thrust with his blade. He hit nothing but air, and for his failure he was repaid with a blow to the back of the head. He slashed at the source of the blow but Bahadramon was already gone.

"Knowledge of the environment is half the battle," said Bahadramon's voice. "The darkness and the echo here have you paralyzed. How much worse will it be when you're on the Destroyer's turf?"

WarriorSetomon closed his eyes tight and tried to focus. Bahadramon was right. The echo had misled him. He couldn't see. His sense of smell was keen, though, and his fur could pick up the shifting air as his opponent moved around him. He needed only wait for the right moment.

"Hah!" He swung his sword toward the front, but it was caught and he was elbowed in the face, sending him falling onto his backside.

"Better," Bahadramon said with faint approval.

"That wasn't fair!" WarriorSetomon asserted, wiping the blood from his nose. "I had you pegged!"

"You had nothing more than where I was. Actually scoring at hit requires skill in combat." He extended his hand to help WarriorSetomon up.

"This is stupid," WarriorSetomon said as put his hand in Bahadramon's and pulled himself back to his feet. "All you've been telling me so far is how to find my opponent in a dark room. I think it's about time you taught me how to actually fight. We _are_ working in a time frame here."

"Look, pup. You're hell-bent on getting your shot at the Destroyer, and I'm here to make sure you get to that stronghold. But what will you do if you can't even see your enemy once you get inside?"

WarriorSetomon was silent.

"But maybe you have a point. Let's look at it this way; I want you to tell me what makes the perfect warrior."

WarriorSetomon thought about it.

"Do you even know?"

He then shook his head.

"The perfect warrior has only one qualification: he wins. Whatever does it for them, whether it's their strength, their speed or their smarts, they win. I've seen a lot of fighters in my time who try to look pretty with big attacks and fancy moves. All of that doesn't means a thing if you don't win. The perfect warrior doesn't have to be good. He doesn't need anything except victory by whatever means and at any cost."

"Sounds pretty rough to me," said WarriorSetomon. "Winning at any cost and all..."

"That's why I am happy that I'm not the perfect warrior," said Bahadramon. "I believe in honor...honor for oneself. If you fight without it, then the victory you earn may not be worth the price you pay afterwards."

WarriorSetomon thought back to Kabukimon's dying words to him. "I've heard something like that before."

"If you are like me and will not surrender your principles for victory, then you must be prepared to face defeat, and in the fight ahead the defeat you face will mean no less than death. The perfect warrior isn't concerned with death, because he will never need to face it on the battlefield. Warriors like us must be prepared for death; we must know full well that it can come at any moment and we must see through it."

"If you say so."

"Just remember that the Destroyer will not fight with honor," Bahadramon continued. "It is a beast devoid of compassion, so utterly corrupt that it fears no action. It would kill each and every creature in its service if it meant victory. He is without principle, and as such may very well be the perfect warrior. If that is the case then he can never be beaten by any digimon not as free in combat as he. We can only hope that this is not the case."

"I know the type. I met up with a tough customer named Beelzemon a while back. He was so strong...but so heartless."

"If the Destroyer lives up to his reputation, he will not give into his passions, for it is at the moments that we act rashly that we are weakest. If you let yourself be consumed by rage during a fight, you may feel strengthened; you may disregard everything in your berserk state, but against a thinking opponent you cannot win."

"I get it...I guess."

"Now fight me."

WarriorSetomon didn't even bat an eye before throwing a punch. Bahadramon spun around it and in doing so slammed his tail into WarriorSetomon's stomach. WarriorSetomon was down again, but he sprang right back to his feet. Bahadramon was coming in fast from right ahead so he raised his arms up to block the punch. Bahadramon, his punch deflected, dropped down and swept WarriorSetomon's legs out from under him. WarriorSetomon landed flat on his back, but his training had already taught him how to keep from getting the wind knocked out of him. He rolled to the side just as Bahadramon was about to slam his foot down onto his torso. With a small distance between himself and his teacher, WarriorSetomon sprung to his feet again, dancing on the tips of his toes so he'd be ready for anything.

"Think of the greatest fighter you've ever seen!" Bahadramon commanded.

WarriorSetomon, still watching for an attack, considered the order. Mephismon was a powerful fighter, a real force of nature. No one could take him lightly. But there was also Beelzemon. A Mega who took on an entire fleet of Airdramon with his claws, who crushed a Gigadramon like a tin can. He was ruthless in battle. Or maybe SamuSetomon. She had repelled Mephismon like he was nothing. Her skill and discipline were unparalleled. She could probably run circles around any digimon out there. Then there was Bahadramon. So powerful. His technique was flawless. Every move he made attested to his combative prowess. With his seemingly boundless tactical knowledge he could overcome any odds. And finally there was Omnimon, the pinnacle of digimon strength and wisdom. He was the Sovereign of the entire world as well as its savior. Even the Destroyer must fear him.

"I can't choose!" said WarriorSetomon.

"It doesn't matter! They all started out just like you, weak and inexperienced! Oh sure, maybe digivolving made them strong, but without hard work and training, without thinking about tactics and technique, without pondering the nature of combat, they wouldn't know how to use their strength!"

WarriorSetomon sensed motion next to him and threw a punch. It was blocked but this time he knew the counterattack was coming and guarded against it by raising his knee up to his chest. Sure enough, Bahadramon's uppercut was blocked and WarriorSetomon was able to back off.

"Alright mister expert!" he called out. "I've got one for you. You say they've all had to mull over tactics and technique? Well just what is the perfect technique?!"

"That's easy!" said Bahadramon.

WarriorSetomon ducked under a kick at his head and then jumped over another sweep to his feet. He punched at Bahadramon but the beast rolled out of the way and used his tail like a whip on the back of WarriorSetomon's legs.

"No technique!" Bahadramon called out. "When you become too familiar with a style you lose your flexibility! You always respond to situations the same way! Free yourself from absolute rules and your motions flow freely! Move as your body is meant to! Always be thinking about the battle at hand! Do these and you will always defeat an opponent who cannot adjust!"

Bahadramon dodged back and away from a flurry of punches coming at his face before finally pushing WarriorSetomon away with a stiff kick to the chest.

"Now come at me with everything you have!" Bahadramon ordered. "Kill me if you can! I must see what you can truly do!"

"What?"

"Are you deaf?! It's simple. I don't train weaklings. If you give anything less than one-hundred percent now or in the future, I won't hesitate to kill you! You need to be ready to look me in the eye and be absolutely ready to kill me! If you can't kill me, how can you expect to kill your true enemy?"

WarriorSetomon drew his sword and paused. Bahadramon was serious. It was time to show his teacher what he was really made of. He also knew the threat was not in vain, so he would give it his all.

WarriorSetomon charged forward at full speed, leaped through the air and brought his sword down hard. Bahadramon blocked with his tough forearms and took a step back. With a furious yell WarriorSetomon started to hack and slash at Bahadramon with all his might, but each attack was deflected. When he took too long pulling his sword back for one attack Bahadramon saw his opportunity and slapped WarriorSetomon's sword from his hand. Bahadramon pounced on WarriorSetomon, but the student brought his legs up to catch Bahadramon and flipped him over his head. Bahadramon rolled into a kneeling position but couldn't even stand before WarriorSetomon was all over him, laying punch after punch into his master. Bahadramon stopped blocking for just a moment and in doing so received a few solid hits to the face, but it allowed him to reach up to WarriorSetomon and dig his claws into his student's chest. WarriorSetomon cried out and instantly pulled away, but as he did he grabbed Bahadramon by the wrists and pressed his foot up against his torso. Bahadramon felt like his arms were being yanked from their sockets. Not satisfied to sit by and let his student hurt him like that, Bahadramon pulled back, and then it was WarriorSetomon with the wrenched arms, his strength had been unable to compete with Bahadramon's. WarriorSetomon hung tough though and reached out for Bahadramon's throat, only to have his hand snatched in Bahadramon's razor-sharp teeth. WarriorSetomon yelped again, but Bahadramon was not letting go so he reached up to Bahadramon's face with his free hand and started to press his thumb into Bahadramon's eye. Bahadramon tried to pry WarriorSetomon's hand away from his face but to no avail. Finally, Bahadramon released and both were able to pull away. After a moment of attending to his bleeding hand, WarriorSetomon returned his gaze to Bahadramon, ready to get right back to it.

"Enough!" said Bahadramon, holding up his claw.

WarriorSetomon relaxed and took a deep breath.

"Even with only the most basic combat training you've improved a great deal. Keep up this pace and you may yet hope to survive the battle ahead. Rest for a moment. We'll begin again shortly."

To WarriorSetomon's ears, that was high praise coming from Bahadramon.

Hours later in Yokohama, Japan, night had fallen. Rows of apartment buildings intermingled with shops and offices lined the streets. In one particular building, the window of apartment 4F was open and a cool summer breeze wafted into the warmly-lit, albeit cramped living room. The TV was on but no one was watching it because the only person home was asleep on the couch. She had short, black hair and wore a sweatshirt and pants to relax in at the end of the day. Her glasses were resting on the coffee table in front of her. From the door came the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. The lock clicked open and the door swung in. Standing there in the harsh hallway lighting was a figure with disheveled red hair and an overcoat that looked like it had seen better days. In his left hand he clung to a heavy briefcase.

"I'm home," Izzy Izumi said in a defeated tone.

He let his briefcase drop just inside the apartment and stumbled forward. He had heavy bags under his eyes and an unshaven chin. He saw Misaki asleep on the couch and smiled. She'd tried to wait up for him but just hadn't made it. He appreciated the gesture. After slipping off his coat he hung it off the back of one of the chairs around the small dining table. His tie came next and was placed neatly on the kitchen counter. He loosened his collar and went for the fridge. After he pulled out a can of coke the calico cat he and Misaki kept jumped up onto the counter, either to greet him or to inspect the floor for dust bunnies from a high vantage point. Either way, Izzy gave it a quick scratch behind the ears and popped open his coke. Izzy then noticed the light on the answering machine blinking. He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he wanted to bother answering it.

"Alright," he said to the cat. "If that's a call from work telling me I have to come in this weekend, I quit right now."

He took a sip of coke and hit the button on the machine. He listened closely.

"_Mr. Izumi, this is Human Resources Director Nashimuri calling on behalf of the Tanaka Technologies Consortium..._"

"Damn. So close," Izzy said as he took another sip.

"_Your work with Nakashimi Manufacturing has been brought to the attention of our offices and we are interested in setting up a meeting with you to discuss your future in the industry. As we are currently engaged in re-staffing, we feel there may be a position available for you with our organization. If you have any interest in interviewing for a position with us we would like to schedule a time to meet at your earliest convenience. You can reach me at..._

The can of coke slipped out of Izzy's hand and hit the floor, which got the cat's attention immediately. Izzy didn't move for a few seconds. Then his lips slowly curled up and he began to grin. Noticing the dropped can he bent down and picked it up. He placed it on the counter and grabbed a few paper towels to clean up, but as he kneeled he became excited again. He stood up and looked frantically around the room for someone to hug. Misaki was still out like a light and the cat never was much on hugs. After jumping around for a few seconds he did the only thing he could and pounced on Misaki, waking her up with the tightest hug she'd ever had. Izzy had just felt his career and his lifetime ambitions shift into high gear.

**Day 64**

Two weeks and a day, that was exactly how long it had been, give or take a few hours. Fifteen days of constant, rigorous training, and every minute of it seemed harder than the last. WarriorSetomon's only consolations were the dramatic improvement he'd shown and the fact that every few days he'd be sent down to the small lake at the base of the mountain to wash and dress his injuries, and there were many to be dressed. Now it wasn't that WarriorSetomon really hated training, but he did learn to scale the whole mountain in only thirty minutes just so he could spend a little extra time relaxing in the cool water.

"Beautiful," WarriorSetomon said as he looked onto the serene lake this particular morning. He'd already been training since before dawn, and he was glad for the chance to get away. There were a pretty good number of trees and shrubs about, especially considering how sparse the vegetation throughout the south seemed to be.

Eager but not too eager, WarriorSetomon quickly set his sheathed sword and shoulder strap down on the bank. He dumped his jeans and glove in the same place and quickly slid into the water to enjoy a nice soak.

As he attended to his wounds, WarriorSetomon's mind started to wander, as it often did. He'd lately been considering all of the events that had led him to where he now found himself. After his mysterious birth, his leaving File Island with Guilmon, meeting Jenomon for the first time, his interactions with Amadeus, the whole trouble of Mephismon, basically all the things that happened, it was simply amazing that things could turn out like this for someone who was just over two months old. If the rest of his life was like this he was going to be very busy. Then again, he couldn't really be sure how long the rest of his life would be at this point.

WarriorSetomon dabbed at a laceration reaching across his snout and down to his lip from when Bahadramon had gotten in a lucky swipe with his razor-sharp claws. That was sure to leave a scar as nasty as any of the others that now adorned his body. He felt the old scar on his left hip where that Ninjamon had struck him with a throwing star. He felt the gnarled flesh around his left elbow where the bone had snapped. SamuSetomon had used a piece of her own shirt to dress the wound. That strip of cloth was still with him, resting with his pants and sword on the embankment. Then of course there were the dozens of other lesser scars he'd picked up in battles along the way. The more recent ones were from Bahadramon himself. He was a tough teacher without a doubt, but WarriorSetomon could feel how much he was improving, and had faith that this was the best way to train when time was so short. SamuSetomon certainly couldn't call him a tenderfoot anymore.

It was strange how they had parted ways. It was almost as strange as how they had met. In what seemed like the same sentence she taught him how to eat meat apples and called him a girl. It was always like that. After he was stabbed by Ninjamon she carried him to Babamon the healer, but she didn't let up with the wisecracks for a minute. On that boat trip they'd shared what he thought was a special moment, but by morning she was taking every cheap shot she saw. It was like she was two different digimon. If she was it would certainly be a lot easier to explain her. In truth she was one of the most complicated digimon he'd ever met. The mystery of her was probably what always brought him back to her. He just couldn't help a little curiosity. He knew that when all of this was over he'd have to go after her. He'd go farther west to the town she'd spoke of, her hometown. He'd find her there...someday.

WarriorSetomon couldn't help but sigh. He started to swim a little to keep his muscles taut. As he moved he sensed he was not alone, so he froze. Bahadramon's training had made him completely aware of all his senses, and they were now telling him that something was very nearby, and his weapon was very far away. He remained as still as he could while managing to stay afloat. He knew it was there, but not precisely where. Something underwater, and it was about to move.

An instant later the creature breached the water's surface behind him and WarriorSetomon instinctively spun and threw a punch. His attack was caught though with the same kind of combative instinct. Before either could make their next move their eyes met.

"You!" they both shouted.

The creature was in fact none other than SamuSetomon. She and WarriorSetomon stared at one another for a moment in shock, but as soon as they realized that they both preferred to bathe in the buff they broke apart and tried to salvage what modesty they could.

"What are YOU doing here?!" demanded SamuSetomon, her eyes darting every which way but down.

"Me?! You were supposed to be a hundred miles away by now!" WarriorSetomon retorted, struggling to keep his hands fixed in place and swim at the same time. "Did you get lost or something?!"

"I don't think I need to share my business with a pervert!"

"Hey! You're the one that swam up on me!"

"I'm lucky I did, too! Who knows how long you've been here watching me?!"

"I think you're the one that's doing the following! What kind of crazy stalker are you?!"

They stared into one another's eyes for a moment, both as serious as they could be.

"Well?" asked SamuSetomon.

"Well what?"

"Don't you have to run off and, I don't know, GET DRESSED or something?!"

"I don't see why I have to leave. You leave!"

"I was here first!"

"I need it more!"

"Based on your stink I'd have to agree, but I'm still not leaving."

"It just so happens that I'm doing some serious training and I need a little quiet time to rest my muscles!"

"Muscles? Don't make me laugh, Nari."

"Oh yeah? Take a look at these!" WarriorSetomon lifted his arms up and flexed his powerful shoulders and chest.

"That's a more of a look than I was hoping for," SamuSetomon said with a chuckle.

WarriorSetomon quickly realized what he had done and returned his hands to their previous position. "You did that on purpose!"

"No, I'm not crafty enough to come up with that one. I assure you that you did that all on your own."

"Whatever. Are you leaving or not?"

"No way, Nari. I'm not getting kicked out of this primo spot."

"Well I'm not leaving either."

"Fine by me."

"Me too!"

"But you know, you can look away at any time."

"I know!" WarriorSetomon averted his eyes. "Just make sure you stay on your side of the lake. I don't need you coming over here to sneak another peak."

"Sneak a peak? Are you kidding me? I'd sooner blind myself with a rock."

"Yeah right. Don't think I haven't noticed that you like me. What's with all the following me around? The checking in on me while I was in the hospital? Saving my life more times than I could count on both hands?"

"Sorry, Nari, but you're not my type. You'd be lucky to have me as your babysitter."

"Shouldn't you be running along to your own side of the lake?"

"If you insist," she said with a sigh.

The two turned their backs to one another and SamuSetomon started to swim away painfully slowly. She knew just how to push his buttons.

"You know.." WarriorSetomon said before she had gotten too far. "Since we are both here, we might as well keep each other company."

"Hmmm...no."

"No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean I like to have a little peace and quiet too. Ciao, pup."

"Well fine then!"

She got a few yards further.

"Are you sure?" he shouted.

"Wow. You must really want me to stay."

"Do not!"

"My mistake. Of course if you really, really wanted me to stay I just might have to consider it."

WarriorSetomon bit his tongue and mulled it over in his head as SamuSetomon waited patiently for a response.

"I suppose...I might...not hate having you around."

"Not even close, kid."

"Alright, alright, alright. I would like to hang out with you. You know, since we're both here anyway."

"Better. Still not quite right, but I'll let it slide for now."

"You can't imagine my joy." WarriorSetomon replied through gritted teeth, suddenly feeling he'd made a grave error in judgment. "So what _are_ you doing here?"

"The same thing I've always done. I'm surviving."

"Funny. I thought you'd be back in that village you talked about before we parted ways in the hospital."

"Oh yeah. I was...only there for a day before I'd already done everything there was to do in a place like that. After all the traveling I've done, I know I can't be held in just one place for too long. Settling down like that just rubs me the wrong way."

"So you came back here."

"Relax. I was just poking around the area because of all the stories about this Destroyer. Everyone's either running to get here or running away."

"So I take it you're here to fight."

"Hardly."

"Really? But you're a great fighter! I saw how you handled Mephismon and I'm sure you could be a big help."

"A battle for the world? Vast opposing armies? Shaping destiny? It's not for me. All I'm interested in is where I'll end up next."

"But don't you think you'll have to stop sooner or later?"

"Come on, Nari. You should know by now that stopping me would take more than you or anyone else could dish out. When I'm on my own, out in the wild, no ties to anyone or anything, I am my own master, and I bow to no other. That's why I couldn't be part of something big."

"Is that why you don't want to get any closer to me?"

"Did I say that?!"

"No."

"You're damn right I didn't."

"Sorry."

"Forget it, pup. I take it you are going to be part of this little shindig then? Trying to mix it up with the big boys? Just remember that up until now you've had to deal with third-rate flunkies like Mephismon. Omnimon and the Destroyer are in the top echelon. They're the best of the best and if you underestimate an opponent like that for even a second you won't live long enough to regret it."

"I know the risks. Believe me, I've heard it all before from Bahadramon."

"Bahadramon?"

"My mentor. He's been teaching me to fight for a couple weeks now. His training is brutal, but it's working. All I want is to be strong enough to help out."

"And then what? Supposing you do win and you do survive, what will you do? Where do you have to go?"

"I want to put my life back together, the life I want. Guilmon is dead, but maybe he's been reconfigured at File Island or something. Maybe I could go back there and live in peace."

"As you are now? A Mega digimon has no place leading such a life. That is the curse of this kind of power."

"Still, I have to try. I have to hold onto hope that I'll see Guilmon again. Maybe once this is all over I'll get a chance to start things anew."

SamuSetomon looked at him for a moment. "Don't hold onto that hope. It's only going to make things harder on you. Hope is something reserved for the powerless in their darkest hour when they have nothing else. Hope is futile; it can keep you alive in the darkest times, but beyond that it only causes suffering."

They were both silent for a few moments afterward. Every time WarriorSetomon ran into her it seemed like he pulled back another layer. Now he'd hit a nerve that ran very deep, but he could still just barely see the tip.

"That is why one has to rely on their purpose," SamuSetomon explained. "Purpose does not require hope. Accepting what your purpose is will free you from the burden of hoping against it."

"No matter what you say, I'll still have hope. I'm going to make my life what I want it to be and come hell or high water I won't be stopped."

"Well if it means anything, I'll hold out a little hope that you get your wish of seeing Guilmon again. Just remember that things have a way of working out different from what you might expect. I'll see you later, pup."

"Are you leaving again?"

"I can't keep you from your training all day. By the looks of you you're going to need every last minute of training you can squeeze out before the big day arrives. If you survive, we might meet again."

WarriorSetomon waved as SamuSetomon swam off. It had been one of those conversations that you just don't forget. Pretty much every conversation with her was like that. The way she appeared and disappeared so suddenly, the way she toyed with him, it was just like it had always been between them. Somehow, she had become the most constant thing in his life. And the most remarkable aspect of this particular conversation was that both of them had done it in the buff.


	34. Bachelor Party

Okay, back again with a fast update. I'm hoping to get back up to speed with one every week, but don't count on a fresh chapter next weekend. Between being in two performances next weekend, directing a third, reviewing for a Calculus test on Friday and writing a metaphysics paper, my plate is pretty full at the moment. Anyway, this chapter may push the PG-13 rating just a little bit as there is some definite "guy talk" so beware. Hopefully I'll be free to update a little more regularly from now on, but until next time I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Day 68 **

It was a nice morning in Narita, Japan. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air was calm, which made for perfect flying weather. Of course the weather, no matter how perfect, couldn't make a flight from New York to Japan seem any less torturous.

"Thank God," said Willis as he stepped out into the terminal, carrying his bags with him.

Joe followed him out, hunched forward and rubbing his lower back. "I think I've distended a few ligaments," Joe groaned. "Is that a slipped disk? Hey Willis, feel this. Does it seem alright to you?"

"Ah relax," said Willis, very happy to finally be off the plane. "We're finally here! Isn't this great?"

"It'll be great once I get my hands on some aspirin and settle in for a nice long bath. Now come on, let's get out of the way. We're holding everybody up."

The pair stepped out of the way of the traffic that came pouring off the airplane and waited for their other companions emerged. Mimi and Michael finally appeared.

"What time is it?" asked Michael, rubbing his eyes.

"Nine in the morning on Friday," Mimi replied.

"Friday? Didn't we leave Wednesday?"

"That's what an eighteen-hour flight, a layover in Hawaii and crossing the international dateline will do to you," Willis said to Michael.

"Hey guys," Mimi said with a yawn. "How was the flight where you were?"

"Can we please hurry?" asked Joe. "Some of us are in excruciating pain."

"Just sit down or something," said Mimi. "We've still got to wait for Jack and Amber."

"Sit down? That's all I've been doing for over eighteen hours now!"

"I still can't believe suckamuck actually came," said Willis.

"Just be glad she did," said Mimi. "If she hadn't you know she'd make Jack stay back in New York with her."

"No kidding," Willis agreed.

"There they are," said Mimi.

They watched the pair exit into the terminal. Amber was already in the midst of whining about the flight and how her ears hurt from the pressure and that she didn't speak a word of Japanese and anything else under the sun. There was a good chance she'd been going on like that since they were over Lake Michigan. Jack meanwhile was stuck lugging both his and Amber's carryon luggage. By the looks of him he'd opted to drown out the second half of the trip with a steady stream of rum and Coke, minus the Coke.

"Great, we're all set," said Willis. "Shall we go?"

"Do you think you could maybe hold on one minute?!" Amber huffed. "I need to find a bathroom to fix my face."

"Honey, you're a perfect angel just as you are," Jack said in a slightly tipsy tone. "Let's just get out of here."

"I won't be two minutes," said Amber. "Come on, Mimi! Let's go find a place to freshen up!"

Before Mimi could decline Amber grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her off to parts unknown.

"You know, my back actually feels a little better," said Joe.

"The flight certainly could have been worse," said Michael.

"Man, I am THIRSTY!" said Jack. "Are you guys thirsty? 'Cause I'm thirsty. You think there's a bar in here?"

"I think you've had enough," said Michael, reaching over to hold Jack upright. "How about we get you some coffee?"

"Black coffee," added Willis.

"And some Aspirin," Joe chimed in.

"And then maybe I can hit the hay," Michael said with a yawn.

The guys split up, Jack and Michael looking for coffee and Willis and Joe looking for Aspirin. It took maybe fifteen minutes for everyone to get back together again. They waited in baggage claim for half an hour before their ride showed up—Matt and Sora. Of course they took the train the greater part of the forty miles to downtown Tokyo. Even if Matt and Sora did have a car, it sure wouldn't have been able to hold eight passengers. They rode the train back to downtown Tokyo, catching up on everything and talking about plans over the next few days. After making it into Tokyo they all split up, Joe staying in his older brother's apartment (since Jim was out of town working with Professor Takenouchi), Mimi and Michael staying in Matt and Sora's extra room, Willis immediately heading out to look around the town and Jack and Amber heading to their hotel.

The day wore on and soon it was lunch time. Tokyo was a big place and there was a different place to eat on every block, sometimes more. Fast food joints, sushi bars, theme restaurants...the choices seemed endless at times. But as far as simple, cheap, outdoor dining was concerned, nothing beat the noodle cart.

"Two please!" said Davis, handing a few bucks to the guy with the mobile noodle cart.

"Just a moment, sir."

"Really, Davis, I don't mind paying," said Kari. "We could even get some nice sashimi right over there if we split the bill."

"Now that's exactly what I'm always talking about," said Davis. "Why do people have such a negative view of street eats? Sure, there's a few guys out there that try to pass off inferior stuff, but I think it's a great way to go when you're on the go. Hey...that was pretty good. Jeez, I need to write that one down; you got a pen?"

"Fresh out," Kari said with a shrug.

"Crap! Okay, it's the way to go when you're on the go. It's the way to—"

"Here you go, nice and fresh," said the noodle man, handing over a couple piping-hot cups.

"Thank you," Kari said, taking a couple sets of chopsticks along with the noodles.

Kari handed Davis his noodles and chopsticks and the pair started to walk down the sidewalk. Davis tried to juggle his new slogan in his mind, hold his noodles in one hand and break the chopsticks apart in the other.

"Hey look," said Kari, "we're close to the park."

"Sounds like a great place to eat by me," Davis said as he rubbed the slivers off his chopsticks. "Now as I was saying, people just don't appreciate the noodle vendor. I mean it's such a simple idea! Bring the food to your customer rather than making him come to you. It's inexpensive, which everyone loves. The eating atmosphere can be anything you want it to be. It's healthy and it even tastes great! What more could you want?"

"You know, I never really thought about it like that," said Kari, starting in on her meal.

It only took a couple minutes for the pair to get to the park. They sat down on a bench to eat lunch and watch people go by.

"So you really want to run your own noodle cart?" asked Kari.

"Of course! You get to work outside all day, plenty of exercise, and you meet lots of interesting people. Rich and poor, young and old, locals and tourists all eat at the noodle cart."

"Okay, but how are you going to make it better?"

"Huh?"

"You know. How are you going to draw the business your way? How do you plan on making it successful?"

"Hmm... You know, I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

Kari laughed. "I'm sure it'll all work out for the best."

"Somehow things always do for you, Davis."

"You can say that again." He leaned over to kissed her. She blushed and pulled away a little, her mouth still full of noodles.

"Isn't this a little...public?" Kari asked after swallowing.

"What, are you afraid of getting caught?"

"No, it's just..."

"Do you have another boyfriend you're not telling me about?"

"Davis!" Kari said indignantly.

"'Cause I can always get another girlfriend, you know. I hear Mimi's in town. I wonder if..."

Kari quickly grabbed Davis by the side and tickled him. Since that was Davis' ticklish spot he laughed instantly. Kari pursued, saying, "Admit it! I'm the only girl you want!" Davis tried to pull away, crying, "Never!" Kari tickled harder and Davis started to tear up. "Say uncle!" said Kari. "Alright, alright!" Davis finally shouted back. "You're the only girl for me!"

Satisfied, Kari, let go and returned to her side of the bench with a smug smile. Davis took a few seconds to calm back down, but once he did he got a fiendish look in his eyes. He sprung on Kari, wrapping her up in a bear hug and planting a big wet kiss on her lips. Kari squealed and struggled, but after about a second she gave up and just sunk into it.

A few minutes later they had finished their lunch and just sat on the bench watching people go by.

"So where are you and the girls going tonight?" asked Davis.

"Sorry, can't tell you," said Kari. "Top-secret, no boys allowed type stuff. What about you boys? Got a wild and crazy bachelor party planned, I take it?"

"Also top-secret," said Davis.

"Well just promise me you won't land anyone in jail. Yolei would kill you if Ken was in prison on their wedding day."

"Relax, it's still three days away. They wouldn't hold him more than twenty-four hours and I think he can post bail in case of anything big."

Kari laughed. "Don't forget to say hi to everyone for me. There's so much catching up to do. I mean, Joe never writes because he's so busy at med school and I barely feel like I know Willis anymore and who even knows what's happening with Mimi and Michael! Plus I haven't even seen Jack in years!"

"Speaking of which, he...brought his fiancé with him."

"Oh?"

"Sora said she agreed to bring her along on your girls' night out so Jack could come with us to the bachelor party. I hope it's not too much trouble."

"I'm sure she's very nice. Besides, the more the merrier, right? We'll be fine."

Kari and Davis spent much of the remaining day together, but once night rolled around they parted ways and the tone changed. The meeting time had been set, the guest list was made and the drinks were chilled. Davis gelled his hair and put on a shirt he could afford to ruin. Michael made liberal use of strong-smelling aftershave and pulled his normally curly hair straight back into a curly ponytail. Willis grabbed a quick shower and changed into his lucky boxers. Ken chugged a triple espresso and did a few stretches. Joe ordered a pizza and packed some water for later in the evening. Jack endured a long boring conversation with Amber while getting dressed. Matt had a cigarette to relax and shaved nice and smooth. TK did a little last-minute research on the local hot spots and sent in his article for the next day's paper. The bachelor party was ready to begin.

At eight o'clock the eight men assembled outside Shibuya station and began to debate where the first stop of the night would take them.

"Okay it's three to two," said Matt.

"I gotta' vote for it," said TK.

"That's my man," said Jack.

"Three all," said Matt. "Joe? Davis?"

"Not a chance," said Joe. "I've tried it once and that was quite enough for me."

"I guess we're looking at a tie then," said Matt. "Since of course Davis'll say—"

"Actually, I have to vote against on this one," said Davis.

"What?" asked nearly everyone there.

"I know, I know. I'm shocked too. I never thought the day would come when I could say this, but I don't need to see a bunch of naked babes dancing around."

"Aw man," said Matt. "Come on, be a buddy? If not for yourself, then let's help out these poor unfortunate souls here." He grabbed Jack and TK by the shoulders. "Come on! My little bro is finally ready to move into the next breakup stage and you'll deny him that? And what of our poor American friend here? He's got a fiancé that won't have sex with him! What's the point of a bachelor party if not to help out guys like this?"

"You guys know Yolei will kill me if we go to a strip club," Ken pointed out.

"The victim doesn't get a say in the matter! In fact, I don't think your vote should even count!"

"It still comes out four to three," said Michael.

"But what kind of bachelor party doesn't have strippers?!" shouted Matt.

"Yeah!" Jack and TK agreed.

"The kind where most of us don't want to piss off our girlfriends," said Davis.

"I can't believe you're actually in favor of this," said Ken. "What would Sora think?"

"I can't believe Tai refused to come. You know he would've voted for the hot naked ladies."

"The whole reason he didn't come was for the sake of his career," Ken pointed out.

"What about Cody?" asked Joe.

"First of all, he's only nineteen," said TK. "Second, I don't think he could bring himself to use a fake ID if he even had one."

"Well if we're not going to a strip club, then what's the first move?" asked Matt.

"Well I did hear something about a really great swing club across the bay," said TK.

"Well I guess it's worth a shot," said Matt.

A little over an hour and a half later the eight of them found themselves seated around a couple tables at a sushi bar.

"You know we're never letting you pick the place again," said Davis.

Some of the guys held back laughter, but barely.

"Hey look, it's not like I've ever screwed up like that before," said TK.

"We'll let you pick the place again someday," said Matt. "But only after you learn the difference between a swing club and a swingers' club."

All the other guys burst into wild laughter as they'd already done so many times over the little incident.

"So you got groped a little," said TK. It's not like it's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you. Remember that weekend I was visiting you at college?"

"Huh? Oh no! TK—"

"Check this out," TK continued. "Matt's band does their set for open mic night, they start to do a little partying with some babes in the audience and they bring me along for the ride. It goes without saying that alcohol was involved."

"TK!"

"Let him tell it!" said Joe.

"So it turns out this one chick Matt was talking to all night was a big animal rights activist on campus. As Matt gets more and more drunk she convinces him to come with her to free the animals from the science building ..."

"TK, I really think you should—"

"Shh! It's getting good!" Joe insisted.

"Anyway, long story short, the next morning found Matt doing a new version of the walk of shame. Apparently he lost his clothes sometime during the science building raid and all he had to cover up with was a chicken!"

The laughter flared up even louder than before.

"Well as long as we're sharing stories..." said Matt. "Joe? Do you remember that Senior prank you pulled off in high school?"

The color drained from Joe's face. "Oh God."

"For those of you that don't know," Matt went on, "our dear friend Joe here had a bit of a mischievous streak back in the day. Couple that with a better-than-working knowledge of chemistry and you can get some nasty results. It's the last day of school and Joe decides to play a little joke. Hey Joe, what was that stuff called again?"

"Butyric Acid."

"The name doesn't do it justice. He put a little bit of that stuff in the library, the lunch room, the bathrooms, the stairwells, the teacher's lounge—pretty much everywhere. I guarantee no one here has ever smelled anything even remotely as foul as the horrid stench of death that was unleashed that day. I swear to you that no one made it more than three hours without puking their brains out!"

Another round of laughter shot around the table.

"Alright, you caught me," Joe admitted. "But high school hijinks don't even come close to the stuff you get into in college. Especially on a road trip."

Willis, Michael and Jack all shut up immediately.

"Now this sounds interesting," said TK.

"Spill it," said Matt. "What happened?"

Joe seemed to be carefully deciding which of a number of stories to tell. Finally, his gaze settled one two people.

"I think Jack and Michael have an interesting story about that trip," said Joe.

Willis started laughing, as he knew right away which story Joe was going to tell.

"The four of us were going on a road trip across country for the first part of summer break. We get into...somewhere in Missouri, and we rent a couple Motel rooms for the night. But since those two have been asleep in the back seat all day, they've still got plenty of energy and decide to see what there is to do in town. The local yellow pages were about as thin as our road map, so options were limited. But of course, even the smallest town has strippers."

"Here we go again," said Ken.

"I didn't have a girlfriend then, so it was okay," Michael defended himself.

"So she gets there, right?" said Joe. "But something's weird about the whole thing because she's not dancing and—"

"Oh come on, Joe," said Jack. "Either tell it right or don't tell it at all."

"Alright, fine," said Joe. "You tell it."

"Well since it's gonna' come out anyway," said Jack. "Michael and I were just hanging out since we couldn't sleep. We ordered a pizza, caught the tail end of some movie, usual stuff. Pretty soon it was two in the morning and we were bored stiff. We get to talking about all the stuff we want to do on this road trip and sure enough, strippers come up on the list."

"In case it's not obvious, alcohol was involved here, too," Michael interjected.

"Right," Jack continued. "So we starting flipping through the phone book, making some calls. We tried to find the fanciest place within our budget. Finally the deal is set and she's on her way. We finish up the pizza and try to wake up Joe and Willis so they can join the party, but when we called their room Joe had a conniption fit.

"Anyway she shows up about an hour later and everything seems cool. She wasn't the prettiest woman ever, but she wasn't half bad for a stripper. Anyway, she says 'where do you want me?' and I wave her over to the other side of the room and she does quite possibly the worst striptease I've ever seen."

"There was a good reason for that," Michael noted.

"I'm getting to that," said Jack. "Anyway, she just shucked the shirt and dropped it on the floor and then lost the skirt, sat on the bed, slid off her shoes and just laid down. A few seconds went by and we just looked at her, then at one another, and then back at her. Finally it dawns on us that she's not in fact a stripper."

"There was a hooker in her skivvies lying on my bed," said Michael.

A few snorts of laughter circled the tables.

"I told her we'd be right back and we ducked out the door," said Michael. "Thinking quick, we decided that one of us would take one for the team, since neither of us was attached, we did have some time to kill and we were going to end up paying her no matter what. Somehow the responsibility ended up on my shoulders."

"It was because you were the one that called the wrong place," said Jack.

"Well I'm sorry but it was my first time ordering a stripper. Anyway I decided I'd just get the cheapest thing on the menu. Two minutes in and out with no one having to be embarrassed and no more than ten bucks out of my wallet. Simple, right?"

"You'd think so," said Jack. "I went to the bathroom down at the end of the walkway and stayed in there for a good five, maybe ten minutes before coming back. I figured the hooker would be out of there in maybe thirty seconds."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it. Anyway, I come back and walk in but they're still there. I'm about to turn away and go back out again real quick, but then I see something out of the corner of my eye. While she's got Michael distracted she's reaching for his wallet on the bedside table."

"What'd you do?" asked Davis, by now completely entranced.

"What do you think I did? I shouted 'Hey!' and walked right up to them. Michael has no idea what's going on and she makes like she doesn't even know I'm there. She was still going for the wallet until I grabbed her hand, and then that got her attention."

"She wasn't happy," said Michael. "She freed up her other hand right away and just flat-out decked Jack."

"She had one mean left hook, I'll tell you that much."

"I'm still trying pull my pants back up and she grabs my wallet and her clothes, steps over Jack and heads for the door. Finally I shout at her to stop and she doesn't even look at me, so I jump up and tackle her to the ground."

The laughter around the two tables got louder.

"I got up about then with my nose bleeding," said Jack. "I looked down just in time to see her kick him right off her and boot him in the face. So I come in and try to wrestle Michael's wallet from her hands, but not only does she fight me off with one hand, but with the other she shoves me back a good five feet. She turns to go again, but she stops just a second longer to grab MY wallet off the other table. Then all of a sudden Michael comes outta' nowhere and tackles her again! She pushes him off again but I come running up and just flat-out punch her as hard as I can! She barely flinches. She just turns to me and elbows me in the throat!"

Then Michael took over again. "For those of you who haven't been paying attention, it was pretty obvious at this point that there's no way in hell that this stripper was actually a woman."

The laughter reached a crescendo.

"So Jack's lying on the ground trying to breathe and somehow I get back up again and run after her. She's already down the walkway but I catch up to her just in time to shove her into the bathroom and hold the door shut! So I'm holding the door shut and Jack comes out and he sees I knocked our wallets out of her hands! He grabs them quick and we both bolt like hell! And of course as soon as I let go she flung the door wide open and started chasing after us! If she could run like she could hit, she'd be all over us in about two seconds. Since we're on the second story and the parking lot is a good fifteen feet below us, Jack and I basically put our heads between our legs, kissed our asses goodbye... and jumped right over the railing. We landed on an SUV, rolled off and then ran the rest of the way to our car, which I happily have the keys to. Now for all we know the stripper's still right behind us so we book it to the car and jump in head first! We tore the hell out of there like we'd just robbed a bank!"

"We drove out of town and didn't come back until sun up," said Jack. "Suffice to say, the ride was pretty damn quiet. Not one word in close to three hours. Then, as we pull into the hotel parking lot and as soon as we step out of the car, Michael looks over at me with this strange gleam in his eye and says, 'How's that for a road trip story?' and we both just about bust our asses laughing."

And so did everyone else at the tables.

"But let's not forget that a lot more happened on that trip," said Jack. "Who here wants to hear how I got the nickname Jackrabbit?"

"Oh no," said Joe and Willis.

"That's right," said Jack. "If I go down you're all coming along for the ride."

"I think this is going to be a good one," said Ken.

"Now for those of you who've never been to Death Valley before, it's a really nice place...at midnight in the dead of winter. In the summer though, at high noon, in an old car with crappy AC, even ice cream would burst into flames. Joe was driving, poking along at maybe ten miles per hour. We had the AC cranked to max and all kinds of fans going. There hadn't been a fast food joint for about fifty miles and there wasn't likely to be one for fifty more. The cooler in the back was dry as a bone. So what do you suppose is the last thing you'd want to happen in this situation? Exactly what did happen. The engine began to overheat."

"Ooh, that ain't good," said Davis.

"So what'd you do?" asked Matt.

"Well Joe pulled over pretty quick and we all piled out to look at the engine. Still enough coolant, nothing obviously broken, and the oil looked good. It was just too damn hot. There could only be one problem."

"The air conditioning," Ken realized.

"Exactly," said Jack. "Between that and the heat, the engine just couldn't take it. We tried turning the car off and just waiting for the engine to cool down, but twenty minutes in that weather wears you down pretty fast. We checked the heat again and it was still too high, so we knew what we had to do. We turned the heater on full-blast to pull the heat off the engine and tried waiting again.

"As we waited it became pretty clear we'd be at this all day if we had to keep stopping to cool the engine off, so it was either spend the day in Death Valley with nothing to drink, or drive through it with the heater on. We opted to bite the bullet and go for the gusto, so we all piled back in with Joe still at the wheel. Not two minutes go by and everybody's taken their shirts off. Even with the windows open and all the vents closed the heat coming off the engine still hits you right in the face. Finally everyone starts yelling at Joe because he's still driving like an old lady. I finally had enough and told him to pull over so I could take the wheel. He did and everyone took off their shoes and socks before we continued on our way."

"I have never seen anyone drive as fast as you did right then," said Joe. "I swear that car would've fallen apart if you'd pushed it any harder."

"If I could have pushed it harder, I would have," said Jack. "I hate being too hot. At least when you're cold you can go inside or put on a sweater, but all you can do in the heat is sweat. Anyway, we kept stopping every few minutes so everyone could loosen their clothing a bit more."

"I think I can sense where this is going," TK said with a smirk.

"And you'd be right," said Jack. "Four buck-naked guys stuck to the vinyl seats of a crappy car with all eyes forward flying down the California highway at about a hundred miles an hour."

Everyone laughed again.

"But that's not it," said Jack. "That may be the emptiest, most God-forsaken stretch of road on the planet, and yet they still set speed traps."

"Ooooh..." the guys all moaned.

"So of course I look behind me and there's a cop car coming up fast with lights spinning and siren screaming. I pull over and we're all just sitting there with the cop behind us for about ten minutes, sweating in the heat. No one goes to get dressed because cops don't seem to like a lot of dramatic movement in a car they're pulling over. Go figure. When he finally does come up he's got his pad and pen all set and he's adjusting his mirrored sunglasses. He comes up with this look like he's about to lay the law down hard, but as soon as he sticks his head in through the window, looks around and feels the heater he steps back and just about doubles over laughing."

The guys all laughed yet again.

"When he does manage to calm himself down again he comes back over and says to me, 'Son, where are you headed to like a Jackrabbit with its tail on fire?' and so I say I'm heading to the nearest gas station since my engine is overheating. We talk back and forth for a while and the guy can barely keep a straight face the whole time. By the end we'd given him such a good story to tell that he let me off with a warning and told me to keep it within the posted speed limit."

Everyone cheered the happy ending.

"We made it to a gas station a while later and after getting dressed we went in to pick up snacks, use the bathroom and let the car cool off. While we were just waiting around drinking some pop, Willis stands up and says, 'Gentlemen, I'd like to make a toast to Jack for getting us out of Death Valley like a bat out of hell. Here's to the jackrabbit with his tail on fire!' So we all laughed and applauded."

"The whole jackrabbit thing became a running joke after that," said Michael. "Pretty soon it just evolved into a nickname. Pretty cool, huh?"

The guys all cheered and Jack saluted by downing the last of the beer in his bottle.

"Alright, that was pretty good," said Davis. "But let's not forget that we're here for Ken's bachelor party, so we can't let the night go by without a few good stories about him, can we?"

Ken started to blush before Davis even got started.

"Okay, so this was back in high school, right?" Davis began his story.

So maybe it wasn't the wildest bachelor party ever. There were no strippers, just stories. No one made it out without getting a few embarrassing stories told about them. And while they related their tales to one another they explored Tokyo up and down, stopping in at clubs, bars, shows, and doing anything that would get them a few new anecdotes to tell. And of course, like any bachelor party, alcohol was most definitely involved.


	35. The Storm

I apologize for the lack of updates lately, and I really appreciate that a few of you are still willing to stick this thing out to the end. I'd like to say my slowing updates is due to lack of time, and that's true in part, but it's mostly owing to a lack of interest. Just bear with me and I promise this will get done, no matter how long it may take.

**Day 71**

Bahadramon sat in his cave, alone once again. WarriorSetomon left early that morning after a good night's sleep, a hearty breakfast, and a few parting words of advice. The pup had even asked him to come along, but he just wasn't up to it. He felt too old and worn out these days, and fighting was something best left to the young and strong. Sure, his knowledge of fighting had grown more impressive with time, but his body weakened simultaneously; it was a cruel tradeoff.

Alone again. A solitary creature dedicated to the lonesome task of guarding this sacred place. Did that really help him atone for his actions? Did it really make up for the lives he took when the virus possessed him? Somehow he felt that teaching WarriorSetomon to fight was more meaningful than all the years rotting away in the darkness. Maybe the youngster would survive because of the training he'd been given. Something about that kid…it made him restless, agitated. It was like he couldn't sit still anymore since he'd showed up on his doorstep.

"A bit dark in here, don't you think?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Bahadramon sprang to his feet. He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed the uninvited guest approach. Now he was caught off guard and vulnerable.

"Relax," said the voice, approaching Bahadramon from straight ahead. "I'm not here for a fight."

Bahadramon didn't relax in the least. "Who are you?"

"An old friend," the voice replied as it stopped right in front of him.

Bahadramon could tell the digimon was much smaller than him, maybe half his size. But that didn't mean he wasn't still dangerous.

"You don't smell like any friend I've ever had."

"A _very _old friend. By the looks of you, I could call you the same."

"Do you have a name, friend?"

"Just call me Dobermon. I'm here to help you."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"By getting you back in the game. We can't have one of our star players leaving early."

"And just who are 'we'?"

"We're the ones that are going to help you; now do you want it or not?"

"Not interested."

"Sorry, but I must have phrased it wrong. We're going to help you whether or not you want us to."

"Leave now or you'll never leave at all."

"Listen, you don't understand."

"Then explain."

"Alright," said Dobermon. "Do you want to know who we are? Well here it is. All my life I've been working to save this world from itself. I was there to help raise the Sovereigns from the egg, I was there to protect the peace of their reign, and I was there when Daemon came to stop it. I was there for so long and through so much. We all were. We helped each other through it all, but eventually it got to be too much."

"You're trying my patience."

"I'm getting to it, just listen. Anyway, we all knew we'd been fighting a hopeless battle our entire lives. There was no point in sticking it out, in living for an eternity of struggle, never able to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And all because there was always some new threat on the horizon. The sheer absurdity of our mission was what broke our alliance. Afterwards it all came undone.

"It was as if we had sent an invitation to the Dark Masters by our departure. The Digital World fell quickly. The Sovereigns were sealed away. Soon a ceaseless torrent of vile creatures was unleashed upon the world which has yet to be stemmed. The Destroyer is only the latest in a long line dating back to Daemon.

"I tried to ignore it. I tried to live life alone, but I couldn't deal with the knowledge that I did nothing while so many suffered. None of us could bear the pain of it. Damn that Protomon; he created us so that we could never escape his plan for us, never leave our role in the world. He made it impossible for us—for me—to be free. We had drifted too far apart to simply join forces again. We all sought ways to be useful. I went to the southern quadrant to aid Zhuqiaomon, but ended up on Earth, partnered with a human. When the battle against the D-Reaper came, Zhuqiaomon chose me to be his courier. He knew he could use me; he knew that I would surrender my life for the cause. But did my sacrifice earn me rest? Did leaving the human, whom I called partner, whom I cared for, all for the good of this world, make me deserving of some reward? No. I was reborn to serve once more, to vainly attempt to steer this world from its self-destructive course.

"And so I am here, trying to save the world again. Most of us are not as strong as we once were, and regaining that lost power would take more time than we have. Most of us can't even find one another anymore. Kuzamon was recently with Lucemon in the north but he's disappeared again. Kizokumon has unfortunately hit some rough patches since our parting ways, and now she is only a Rookie. As you can see, I am a mere Champion, far too weak for this battle. There is only one left among us with both the strength and proximity to fight this battle. That one is you, Bahadramon."

"What?"

"Bahadramon, we are the Guardians of this world, and you are one of us. It is your duty and your desire to protect this world from fiends like the Destroyer, whether you choose to accept it or not."

"…No."

"It's not up to us this time, Bahadramon."

"I'm not one of you. I can't be…not after some of the things I've done."

"But you are. I know of your lost memory. While that is unfortunate, it doesn't change who you are. You too are a Guardian, Bahadramon, as ancient and immortal as any of us, and just as bound to Protomon's service. You want to fight the Destroyer. All of us do. But you're the only one of us that can, so the burden falls on your shoulders this time."

"Even if I did believe you, I can't fight. Just look at me, I've grown old and weak. My body couldn't handle a fight like that anymore."

"That is why I'm here," said Dobermon. "I told you I'm here to help you, and to do so I'm going to restore your body to its true form. You'll be as young and strong as ever."

"And if I am a Guardian like you claim, then why did I get old in the first place? I thought you guys were eternally young or something."

"We are, and so are you. Your body just needs to be reminded of that fact."

"And how would you do that?"

"You must take the data of another Guardian. Load mine and you're data core will reset to its correct age."

"I'm not about to kill you just to get young again."

"While sacrificing my life so others may fight is hardly new to me, I won't have to do it this time. I'm giving you just enough to get you young again. This is a big favor, so I suggest you don't waste it."

Before Bahadramon could object Dobermon began to give off a deep red glow and particles of data began to float off him.

"Take it…" he growled, clearly weakened by the experience.

Bahadramon had no time to think, but for some reason there was something familiar about this digimon. Was Dobermon a Guardian? Was he? It didn't really matter. Bahadramon could see that, for the time being at least, they shared an enemy. If it worked as Dobermon claimed, Bahadramon would have his wish at last.

Dobermon collapsed and the red aura left him. The particles still hung overhead for a moment before they shifted toward a pale blue color and were absorbed by Bahadramon. As Dobermon lay panting on the ground, Bahadramon began to feel strange. His skin seemed to tighten, his muscles bulged, his aching bones straightened themselves. All of a sudden he was awash with energy and vitality again. He was young, he was strong, he was whole.

"Go now," Dobermon growled. "The battle has begun. Omnimon and his army fight bravely, but they will all die without you. Break for the Hall of the Void Soul the instant you see a hole in their lines. Go!"

"We have more to talk about," said Bahadramon, now with his youthful voice restored. "I want to see you when I get back."

"Survive the day and we'll meet again."

Bahadramon nodded and quickly turned to go. Just outside the cave entrance the ground began to shake. Stones toppled down the cliff face and pebbles shuddered on the ground. And then Bahadramon burst from the cave mouth like an explosion, scattering the rock and earth that had disguised the cave until now. How great the sun felt, how fresh the air and how blue the sky. It was time to test his wings. He would fly north through the wasteland as fast as he could. With a good tail wind he could reach the battlefield in a couple hours. Of course he would have to be sure to pick up his prized pupil on the way.

A path of scarred earth cut its way through the Great Wasteland, the evidence of a string of recent battles, and at the head marched Omnimon and his army. The Destroyer had sent wave after wave of small contingents toward them, but each time the enemy fell swiftly to overwhelming numbers.

"The Destroyer's attacks have cost us hours of progress," Angemon muttered as he flew alongside Omnimon. "Does he mean to delay our reaching his stronghold?"

"Perhaps…" said Omnimon. "But I read a deeper intent here. If he means to truly delay us he would send even larger forces. I rather suspect that he merely wishes to test our lines…to uncover our weakest points and exploit them."

"And if he can?"

"When we reach his stronghold I'll order the lines reformed. With our forces redistributed he'll be back to square one."

Just then, Angewomon joined the two in a great hurry. "More are coming! A squadron of Airdramon from the east!"

"Tell them to hold the lines and brace for combat. Send squadrons five through eight to intercept and extend the scouting parties' radii by one and a half miles. All other forces move ahead as planned. Once they're driven off, reform with the main force and alternate positions with GuardiAngemon's forces at the rear wing."

"Yes sir!" Angewomon said with a salute before quickly heading back to her troops with new orders.

As Angewomon flew back to the own wing she passed by Cyberdramon, who flew with Ryo clinging to his back. Ryo shielded his eyes from the wind with his left arm and gripped Cyberdramon with his right.

"How much longer?" Ryo asked.

"The smell grows stronger," Cyberdramon replied. "We should see them in less than an hour."

"Provided these attacks don't slow us down to much," said Ryo.

"Nothing will slow _us _down," said Cyberdramon. "You and I will get there with or without backup."

"Let's just be ready. There's bound to be more monsters like SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon waiting for us ahead. We'll need to Biomerge sooner or later."

"The later the better."

"Agreed."

"Are you sure we can trust that human and his digimon?" GuardiAngemon whispered to Lucemon.

"Consider thyself that digimon's kin," said Lucemon. "He too was born into corruption."

"I'm just not sure he's free of it," GuardiAngemon said with a grimace. "And humans are too unpredictable."

"Then let us hope that his unpredictability works to our advantage. Perhaps the chaos of humanity will join in a favorable unity with my own order."

"Can it get any hotter out here?" asked Tentomon. "My wings are so dry I swear they're about to crack!"

"Tell me about it; I think I'm wilting," said Palmon, who rode on a Mammothmon's back with a bunch of other digimon.

"Now calm down a bit, my dear," Hawkmon said in a comforting tone as he swooped in. "It's not the end of the world."

"At least not yet," said Armadillomon, who road behind Palmon. "Just think about what we've got ahead of us."

"I'd really rather not," said Hawkmon.

"I'll just concentrate on flying, thank you very much," said Tentomon.

Exveemon and Stingmon, as part of squadron six, were busy engaging the attacking Airdramon. Exveemon rebounded off one's skull and headed for the tip of its tail. He grabbed the beast's tail with his muscular arms and in one mighty swing he lobbed it into another Airdramon already keeping Stingmon busy. With the two Airdramon disabled, Stingmon was able to deliver the finishing blow to both at once.

"It's like they're not even trying!" Exveemon yelled out as he bashed his fist into another Airdramon's skull.

"Don't get cocky!" Stingmon reminded him. "It's going to get rough in there!"

Stingmon unleashed a furious flurry of kicks on an Airdramon that attempted to grab him from behind. He finished it off with a spinning kick that sent it to the barren earth below, where it disintegrated.

"Just watch my back!" Exveemon took a fireball to the chest but returned fire and won out.

Stingmon sprang into action, rushing up past Exveemon to shove his spiking strike down the throat of an Airdramon that was about to grab a great big bite of his friend. "Seems you always need me to do that for you."

"Hey, we work as a team, and we work good."

Deep in the Destroyer's stronghold, the Hall of the Void Soul, the great beast held a final conference before the battle would begin. In attendance were the dreaded demon lord Beelzemon and the shadowy but powerful digimon that called the Destroyer father.

"It's all goin' like you said, but I still don't get it," said Beelzemon.

"Then it is a good thing you do not have to," the Destroyer rasped. "Now then, I think I have kept you on the leash long enough."

"How's that?"

"Father, you can't…"

"As the Sovereign's army marches on us, my armies march on the undefended cities around the world, each under the command of a different member of the Demon Corps. While they strike at us, we strike back three fold. Beelzemon, you have shown loyalty, at least enough for me to place you among my champions. It is only right that you should have the same chance that they do. You shall lead my forces here into the battle. Lead my army against theirs. You yourself shall have the honor of doing what no other servant of mine could dream of: killing Omnimon."

"It's as good as done," Beelzemon said with a sinister grin.

"And you, my dear," the Destroyer said as he shifted his gaze. "They may be my champions, but you are my child. Your strength is your own. But where does your loyalty lie?"

"Eternally with you, father."

"Good, good. Then you shall abide by my decision. I have a special plan for you…"

The day was wearing on and although the ground underfoot was hot and rough it did not bother WarriorSetomon. No physical discomfort could affect him anymore. He was beyond simple concerns. For the first time in his life he was feeling really focused. He could only hope he was not too late.

He had been walking for hours, and since entering the wasteland it seemed like he had been traversing a constant stream of scarred earth, blackened by recent battles. At least he knew he was heading the right way. He wanted to run to make up for lost time, but he couldn't get there and be too exhausted to fight.

There were no rosy memories of days long gone now, no daydreams, no pining for a better lot or lamenting the present one. There was none of that, only thoughts of the immediate future. His whole body felt numb but he pressed onward. That's what it had all become now, walking forward without feeling or goals, just going through the motions in an inescapable path. He didn't want to escape the path. It was his; he had chosen it and he would see it through.

Step, step, step, step. Even spacing, even rhythm, even pacing. No wind to stir his fur, the weight of his blade upon his back, it all seemed to melt away. None of it mattered. His vision had become a tunnel and nothing beyond its walls could get to him anymore.

Then suddenly the pace was broken. He heard the sound of a gust of wind, something out of place here. Then before he even knew it he was moving, faster and higher than his legs could take him. He was flying, caught in the mercy of another. Even without looking up he knew it was his master.

"You decided to join me after all."

"Hard to ignore a request from an old friend," said Bahadramon.

WarriorSetomon looked up, shocked at the youthfulness of his teacher's voice. "Master! You're so…young!"

"I suppose I am," he said with a little smile. "And drop the 'master' stuff. From now on, you and I are on equal footing. Rank and distinction lose all meaning once you've fought alongside someone, and all that's left is 'friend'."

"So you're up for a battle then?"

"It's been a long while. I'll just have to fight extra-hard to make up for lost time!"

WarriorSetomon smiled.

With Bahadramon's mighty wings paving the way the wasteland rushed by below with the greatest of ease. Even with just a few flaps per minute they were making excellent time. They had a lot of ground to cover though and little time to do it if they were to reach the battlefield before it was all over.

The day wore on, and while Bahadramon's wings and resolve remained strong the long march had come to an end to the north. It was now high noon and the sun beat down mercilessly through a cloudless sky. Omnimon stood at the forefront of the army he had worked hard to amass. Before him spread the throng of horrors that the Destroyer had summoned to his side. Digimon dredged up from the deepest, darkest places in the world, places better off forgotten. Swarms of Airdramon and Devidramon formed a writhing mass overhead, led by a few of the most elite flyers the demons had ever spawned. Even worse were the beasts that covered every inch of ground around the base of the Destroyer's stronghold. There must have been over ten-thousand of them, digimon of all shapes and sizes, all befouled by the evil of the Destroyer, all bent on destroying Omnimon and his allies. Many had once been good and were turned; many others were born in the shadows of the darkest minds. Packs of Setmon, the Destroyer's hounds of choice, circled the edges of the army while whip-wielding Phelesmon kept the masses riled up. Dozens of Infermon skittered around for the greatest vantage points. The fortress itself was carved from the living earth, a wall of stone rising out of the wasteland. It was impregnable, indestructible, insurmountable. Omnimon had his work cut out for him.

"Slaves of the Destroyer!" Omnimon shouted in a clarion tone that rang out for miles. "The Sovereign's army has come to cleanse this place! Depart now and return to where you come from!"

The dark digimon held their ground, but were obviously not pleased. Then a ruckus started in the center of their lines. Digimon began to move aside, out of the way of something hidden from view. What slowly emerged were a pair of Tuskmon, grunting and straining, apparently harnessed to some kind of platform that they dragged behind them. Atop the platform in a crude chair of bone and skin sat a humanoid digimon wearing all black. His three green eyes peered up at Omnimon and his grin displayed his casual demeanor for all to see.

"Beelzemon…" Cyberdramon and Ryo growled from behind the lines of Omnimon's forces.

Beelzemon slowly stood up from his chair. He cracked his neck one way and then the other, his smirk never failing him. "And if we don't?" he called out. "What'll you do, Sovereign? Wipe us all out? Now that ain't exactly kosher."

Omnimon remained stalwart. "We will do what must be done to ensure the safety of the digimon of this world."

"Look around, Omnimon!" Beelzemon shouted. "_These _are the digimon you speak of! You ain't helpin' us!"

"I have no desire to kill any of you, but by following the Destroyer you would lead us all to our doom. For the sake of all life in this world, I will put an end to this."

Beelzemon smiled all the wider. "Your time is done, old man. The era of the Sovereigns has passed into the history books. We're the future."

"It is a shame you have become so deluded, Beelzemon. You and all of your kind. You follow the Destroyer to your own deaths."

"Then let it be said it was a death we freely chose!" In a flash, Beelzemon lifted his gun and carved a pentagram out of the air. He fired into the center and a pillar of light burst through the other side, heading right for Omnimon.

Omnimon wasted not time in returning fire. He straightened his right arm out and fired his Supreme Cannon directly into Beelzemon's attack. The two attacks collided, struggled for a moment, and then exploded where they met.

"I can see why the Destroyer chose you to lead his forces," Omnimon said after a few tense moments. "Only an attack on that scale could keep me at bay."

"They say you're stronger than any of the old Sovereigns," said Beelzemon. "You're probably stronger than me too. But you ain't stronger than all of us. And you certainly ain't stronger than our Lord and Master, the Destroyer. You'll die this day, Omnimon, you and your pathetic army." And with that, Beelzemon pointed his finger dead ahead. "Slaughter them."

All at once the Destroyer's army charged. Thousands upon thousands of digimon threw themselves into the fray, blind to what fate would await them. Omnimon extended his great sword and swung wide, kicking up a strong wind to push the enemy back, but Beelzemon popped in again to break the gust of wind and the evil digimon kept coming.

The first wave hit the hardest. Even with so many powerful digimon serving as the vanguard, the lines very nearly broke just from the initial rush. A unified assault from the Airdramon overhead tore through some of the weaker sections of Omnimon's forces. Beelzemon went straight for his primary target and refused to let up. Omnimon would not get off a single shot so long as Beelzemon lived. Beelzemon's lieutenants focused on teaming up on some of the stronger threats from Omnimon's side, including Angemon and Angewomon who were near the front, as well as Cyberdramon.

Angewomon dodged and weaved around Karatenmon's Crow Swords while Angemon kept busy trying to get in a good hit on Phantomon. Phantomon swung the ball and chain on his scythe toward Angemon. Though Angemon was able to avoid taking a hit by deflecting it with his staff, the chain wrapped around his weapon in the process and Angemon found it being yanked from his grasp. Angewomon was nimble enough to avoid hits, but she just couldn't find a way to counterattack against the crow digimon's vicious swinging swords. Every time she tried she had to pull back quickly to avoid losing a hand. Cyberdramon too had his hands full, keeping Ryo safely on his back while attempting to fight back a great black bird digimon called Ornithmon, a Mega judging from how it fought. As if its piercing shrieks weren't enough the creature's massive wings stirred up a tempest so strong that it was almost impossible for Cyberdramon to stay airborne, much less fight.

Former DigiDestined digimon all across the battlefield had assumed their strongest forms and now fought with all their heart. Exveemon and Stingmon, working as though one digimon again, plowed through the opposition, but with Exveemon always charging ahead it was left to Stingmon to watch his back; the two found themselves constantly surrounded by ever more threatening opposition. Kabuterimon, Aquilamon and Birdramon fought tooth and nail with the Airdramon and Devidramon that blackened the skies. Mid-air grappling turned into death spins as claws met flesh and refused to part. The cries that rang out were truly horrible. Togemon punched deep into enemy lines and let them surround her just so that she could get the most effectiveness out of her Needle Spray attack, always relying on Ikkakumon to blast an escape route for her when things got really dicey. Ankylomon trampled enemies underfoot and bucked them off his back; Guilmon and Terriermon alternated firing their Pyro Sphere and Bunny Blast attacks at a charging Triceramon, but having little effect; Taomon threw spell scrolls faster than she could write them and constantly placed protective barriers to fend off volleys from the Airdramon; Antylamon employed some rough-and-tumble martial arts, striking with incredible agility at every enemy around her, the whole time with MarineAngemon close at her side; Gargomon and Wendigomon stood back-to-back, firing nonstop into encroaching enemy lines. The sights, the smells, the sounds…nothing else compared to the unmatched savagery, the brutality and horror of war.

"Lord Lucemon…?" GuardiAngemon asked impatiently.

"Not yet," Lucemon replied. "Thy way has not been laid open."

"If we do not assist we will be overwhelmed."

The pair hovered near the rear lines, overseeing the chaos at the front.

"Are you even listening? Don't you care?"

"Thy concerns are noted, my child, but the time is not come for thee to strike. If thou movest now then thou willst not meet the Destroyer this day. That is why thou came, correct?"

"I cannot remain cold to the sound of battle."

"Thou art not meant to be. The choice is thine; do as thou wish."

"I believe in you and your judgment, Lord Lucemon. Never doubt that. But I must go ahead to wage this war with my comrades."

"Then get thee to thy path before thou dost waste another moment."

"Will you be alright here?"

"I am not so frail as thou seem to think. When the time is right, look to my arrival. Only at that moment can victory be grasped and these devils routed."

GuardiAngemon sped off to the battle, his blades gleaming in the constant sun. Even as he flew the second wave came upon Omnimon's forces and the front line dissolved away. Suddenly there were digimon trapped and isolated behind enemy lines, including Omnimon himself. Fire now rained down from the Airdramon's maws constantly. Open flames began to spread across the battlefield and the ground heaved.

Cyberdramon had managed to separate himself from the fearsome Ornithmon in the heat of the battle, and while shredding weaker opponents he and Ryo found the time to Biomerge. Now loose again, Justimon sought out Ornithmon to bring the beast down and out of the fight. Angemon found himself with a scythe up against his throat and no weapon in hand. Just as Phantomon was about to do him in though a stray slash from the very close battle between Angewomon and Karatenmon nicked Phantmon in the back. It proved just enough to let Angemon slip from under Phantomon's grasp, spin around, and unleash his Hand of Fate at point-blank range. Phantomon was destroyed and Angemon retrieved his staff from the ghost's fading grip. Before he could rush to Angewomon's aid however a dark cloud came over him, surrounding him, devouring him whole. Like that he was gone, taken in by the Nightmare Syndrome attack of a Digitamamon down on the ground.

"Angemon!" Angewomon cried out.

Karatenmon saw his chance and got in a solid slice, hitting Angewomon's hip. Angewomon cringed and fell back. Digitamamon, satisfied to let Angemon rot within the dark eternity of his eggshell, moved onto further battles, but he did not get far. Before Karatenmon could even catch up to Angewomon a shining purple blade burst forth from Digitamamon's open shell. With one swift slice it cut through the eggshell like butter. Digitamamon disintegrated and in the burst of light that followed there appeared MagnaAngemon, apparently having put some of his training under Goldramon to use. In a flash he was upon Karatenmon. Karatenmon lifted his weapons just in time to parry MagnaAngemon's blade.

Togemon, Ikkakumon and Ankylamon worked steadily to push back the second wave of enemies to come their way. They had just now toppled a Tyrannomon, but before they could move onto the next row of enemies waiting to be trampled a new enemy came to them. With frightening swiftness an Infermon leaped from further back in the crowd and landed before them, vile intentions written all over its face. Ankylomon tried to charge but all he got was a spindly spider leg to the face, knocking him to the side. The Infermon turned to the other two and fired its Spider Shooter at them both, knocking them to the ground and very nearly robbing them of their lives. The Infermon still looked dissatisfied, so it moved in to finish the job.

"This way!" Stingmon shouted to the soldiers below him. "Strike together and we can split their lines!"

"I got the lead!" Exveemon said as he charged in.

"Then I've got your tail," Stingmon stated.

The two flew in low and fast followed by a detachment of friendly troops. As they all burrowed into the enemy defenses their line seemed to get tighter and tighter, until the charge was only one or two digimon thick at some points. Stingmon and Exveemon were near the head of the assault, along with a Monochromon, a Mamemon and a Sorcerimon.

"Step it up!" Exveemon shouted to the troops behind them. "We can't lose momentum now!"

Of course the whole line was surrounded by furious digimon on all sides, but they were a valiant bunch with a commanding, if possibly insane leader. That didn't matter though for a few of them when a blast of energy tore through the troops just behind Exveemon and Stingmon's group. Out of the crowd stepped a Diaboromon, reveling in cutting off their advance and having the honor of slaying two of Omnimon's lieutenants.

The battle raged and raged. For what seemed like an eternity the forces clashed. Hundreds of digimon on both sides were falling by the minute. Every encounter could have been the last for the digimon that fought. DigiDestined or not they all faced their mortality this day.

"You know what you must do."

"I'm not sure I'll make it. Even if I do…"

"You'll be fine. Get inside; leave things out here to us."

"But you could use my help."

"The best way for you to help us is to do what I trained you to do. If you pull it off this all ends. Now stand back."

The ground shook and thunder clapped. A storm sprung up in a patch of unoccupied land just beyond the battle's boundaries. Then all the energy was released in one mighty uproar.

"Gaea Flare!"

A beam of iridescent light shot through the air into the heart of enemy lines. The air and everything else around the beam just burned away, including digimon. A moment later a barrage of smaller energy bursts shot out in a long line horizontal to the first pulse, wreaking havoc across the face of the enemy's forces.

"There's a path."

"So there is," said bahadramon. "Get to it. Something tells me there are a few digimon over there that want to talk to me right now."

Bahadramon didn't even wait for his student's response. He just took to the air on his great wings and trusted WarriorSetomon to follow through on what he had learned.

"Here we go…" WarriorSetomon said to himself as he made his charge into the fray.


	36. Brothers in Blood

Before I begin, I'd just like to clarify a couple points for Yami Vizzini and anyone else that might be wondering. First, regarding the first five DigiDestined, those I didn't name were not named for very good reasons. Second, and more importantly, I fully intend to finish Digimon: Legends, but that will be all. I know for a fact that it will be impossible for me to keep going any further past that, but once the next fic is finished, I intend to provide a detailed synopsis of what would have happened in the remaining story. Now that that's out of the way, I offer you this ground-breaking chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

WarriorSetomon looked forward to the distant horizon and the dark citadel thereon. He couldn't move, but not for lack of trying. He was chained back, weighed down, his whole body anchored. But he pushed forward, straining against all that held him back. His muscles swelled and screamed, his bones creaked and his skin stretched. The chains held fast, but not fast enough. He took a step. Again he pushed himself forward, grunting and groaning against the weight of his world. His whole body cried out and he took another step. Though the chains grew tighter around him, each step came faster and more forcefully. He would not stop; he could not stop. Not now, here at the end of all things. All that was left was to go forward. And so he did, step by step, each coming faster, stronger, harder, until he was running, dashing, crashing his way to the bleak horizon. The obstacles before him stood strong, and the chains at his back drew taut. Then, at the final moment when things seemed most unbreakable, the chains holding him snapped, the obstacles collapsed, and the whole world was torn away. 

WarriorSetomon's sword fell swift and hard, eviscerating anything that tried to stand in his way. He gutted, slashed, and gouged those that tried to fill the hole left by Bahadramon's magnificent attack. With one hand he cleaved a Meramon in two while with the other he tore the limb from a Kuwagamon. He kicked the maimed Kuwagamon from his path and charged forward, using the severed arm as a club to clear a pair of Setmon out of his way. The ceaseless sun shone in his hand with every flash of his blade. A trail of spattered blood and dead digimon lay in his path, but he had to keep moving, for as fast as he could cut them down before him his enemies would regroup at his heels. One, two, three more fell to his savage speed. A jump and a step off BigMamemon, grabbing a Giromon right from the air and throwing it to the ground, landing atop a Roachmon, crushing it, and dashing on ahead… it was all one fluid motion. There were no thoughts, just raw, practiced skill and remorseless determination.

Elsewhere a mass of the Destroyer's minions had piled together to take down one of the newest additions to the battlefield, and they looked to be doing well, until with a fearsome roar he forced his wings wide open and sent his attackers hurtling in all directions. Bahadramon's eyes glowed with an unearthly cool green as he began to grab his assailants in his claws, gnash at them with his monstrous fangs and crush them with his burly tail. The Airdramon circling overhead saw their chance and fired a full volley of fireballs at him. Bahadramon spun around to face the attack, sweeping away the digimon around him in the process. He quickly folded his wings before himself again, and just when the volley was at its closest he spread them again with such force that the tremor could be felt across the battlefield. The ground all around him sunk several inches and the fireballs went spiraling skyward again to scorch the very creatures that had issued them forth.

In the heart of the action, the flurry of blades and blood that was GuardiAngemon did his best to stem the latest wave, but there was only so much that he could do. MagnaAngemon and Angewomon hovered above, the former locked in battle with an axe-wielding cybernetic Mega digimon known as Boltmon while the latter did her best to keep both MagnaAngemon and GuardiAngemon supported at the same time.

"Down!" Angewomon shouted.

MagnaAngemon ducked and she got a clean shot at Boltmon's eyes. The monstrosity fell back, stunned, leaving MagnaAngemon to get in a good solid hit with his own blade. It wasn't nearly enough though and Boltmon retaliated by bashing MagnaAngemon with the broadside of his titanic axe. With MagnaAngemon stunned he turned on Angewomon, backhanding her into the throng below. GuardiAngemon saw her fall and quickly began cutting his way toward her.

"Down, down, down!" Exveemon shouted as he himself headed up.

As Stingmon dropped and Exveemon ascended the Web Wrecker attack Diaboromon had just fired passed right between them. Exveemon returned fire but his meager attack simply bounced off Diaboromon's nearly impenetrable carapace. Stingmon tried to fly in low but came to a stop just in time to avoid a Web Wrecker to the face. Exveemon flew in fast to deliver a kick that would distract the beast, but Diaboromon bounced backward and Exveemon hit nothing but dirt and Diaboromon fired again. Though not hit directly, both Exveemon and Stingmon were blown back by the explosion. They quickly took to the air again to put some distance between themselves and their assailant, but Diaboromon was not about to allow that. As soon as he touched down he launched himself forward again and quickly overtook the two Champions. With deadly precision he unleashed his Cable Crusher attack and slammed the pair to the ground below, crushing them beneath his powerful hands.

Omnimon remained locked in close-combat with the treacherous Beelzemon. Beelzemon's attacks did little damage to the Sovereign, but they came so fast that Omnimon didn't have time to make a move. Even when he did manage a counterattack, Beelzemon's relatively small size and the close proximity made any kind of effective hit nearly impossible to pull off. Even worse, Omnimon was surrounded by evil digimon on all sides, so he had to continuously fend off their attacks as well as Beelzemon's. Thus far it was a dead heat, but the scales were ready to tip.

"Hyaaaaaa!" WarriorSetomon shrieked as he scaled the stronghold's steps in a single bound. Doused in blood and in a rage he dispatched the two Devidramon standing guard at the entrance with a few quick slashes. The fighting had been vicious every step of the way, but thanks to Bahadramon the path was just clear enough for this one shot to get inside. He had to move quickly, for the host of bloodthirsty digimon behind him were closing in fast. With another yell he pounded at the great oval gates with his fists. Again and again he hammered them, breaking off chunks with every blow. Finally with one great strike one of the doors gave way and broke from its hinges. WarriorSetomon shoved that door in and pulled the other back, leaving bare the entrance to the Hall of the Void Soul.

It was dark, almost completely black inside. Despite the blazing sunlight pouring through the gaping entrance, the darkness overpowered it, almost seeming to extend out into the world. WarriorSetomon felt the eyes of his adversaries at his back, but they were not advancing. They stood a couple yards behind him, not one of them willing to draw any nearer to their master's sanctum. WarriorSetomon was relieved not to have to deal with them, but he suspected that what waited within would be much, much worse.

He took a deep breath and fell into the black sea. A chill seized his heart once he set foot inside. This was the darkness from his worst nightmare, the freezing, devouring darkness that he imagined could never really exist. This was the darkness Bahadramon had warned him of, unnatural and absolute, the product of the Destroyer's presence. Through the morass he was able to make out a great pit below him with a narrow stone bridge leading across it.

"No sense in being afraid now…" he reassured himself.

He stepped boldly onto the bridge as he wiped his bloody blade on his pants. A sulfurous smell hung in the air, nearly gagging him. There was a presence very close, as close as the putrid air that engulfed him, but his eyes told him nothing and the beast made no sounds. The smell of ash was too strong and the cold was too great to give him any clues. He had no choice but to continue across the path in front of him. He moved at a slow pace, his padded feet and curved claws announcing his presence; the echoes from each step gave him a vague idea of the room's size and shape, apparently a very large sphere.

Soon he was just barely able to make out the other side of the chamber and the door that would lead him even deeper in. But just at that moment when he was about to feel relief, he felt something else. His fur stood on end in response to a sudden rush of air and he instinctively jumped back as far as he could while still staying on the bridge. No sooner had he jumped than the stone he had stood on exploded toward the roof. A massive creature had ascended from the depths and crashed through the path. Now it looked down at WarriorSetomon with its terrible, blazing red eyes.

The monster was big, _very _big. He felt it make its move again so he jumped back even further just as another section of the bridge disappeared before him. Then the beast lunged again, but shifted his weight from the other side this time.

"At least two arms…" WarriorSetomon noted.

Something else moved, this time below. He felt something grab onto the bridge behind him and tug. The section beneath him fell away and he dove to safety, grabbing onto the surviving ledge by the skin of his teeth.

"And a tail." He added as he pulled himself up.

The beast's ruby eyes glared down at him angrily just before it let out a tremendous roar that shook the foundations of the stronghold. Bricks fell from the ceiling and the already weakened bridge trembled beneath WarriorSetomon's feet. Its screech brought the lone warrior to his knees.

Elsewhere in those dark halls, the Destroyer rested easily upon the seat of victory. He saw in his stygian eyes the battles passing all around him. War spread across the entire world like a plague ushered forth at his word. His armies under the command of his Demon Corps ravaged lands in all directions, most spectacularly of all at his front door where the Sovereign and his pitiful allies would soon fall. Even in his own sanctum a battle was beginning, but only because he allowed it. The little digimon had amused him for a time, and this scene would be the Destroyer's last joy before embarking upon godhood.

"_Brother bred, brother born,_

_Ally, companion, betrayer._

_Sinful beast, rise on wings_

_Of havoc, living scorn._

_Deny your life,_

_Embrace your blood._

_Your brother's fate_

_On the edge of a knife._

_Show him now your bestial rage,_

_Show him your new form._

_Show me that you've come of age_

_Show us all the coming storm._"

WarriorSetomon could barely feel his way around in the darkness. The creature before him was so dominating that it was hard to concentrate. He was fortunate that his attacker seemed in no great rush to finish him off. Still, he wasn't going to wait for it to make its move, so he attacked first.

"Flint Edge!" he shouted as he scraped the tip of his sword along the stone bridge.

A spark ignited on the tip of his blade and quickly spread into a flame running the length of the weapon. Though the fire did give off a little light it was nearly engulfed by the oppressive darkness. Only the faintest impression of the beast made its way to WarriorSetomon's eyes, but that was enough for him to dash forward and aim for the center of its chest. When he thrust his sword toward it though the blade merely bounced off harmlessly, its flame extinguished by the blow. He grabbed onto the beast and hacked at it again and again, but his burning blade didn't even chip the monster's thick armor.

The beast looked down from above him, hot viscous drool falling from its gaping maw. With a flick of its tail it knocked WarriorSetomon away. He fell into the seemingly endless oblivion around him, but he soon found himself flying directly into a wall. The impact hurt, mostly because he wasn't ready for it, but it did give him something to dig his claws into while he thought.

"Okay, new plan," he grumbled to himself. "Can't fight it hand-to-hand, can't break through that armor, can't overpower it…"

He heard a low growl coming from the center of the room. Then a faint red glow appeared before him. At first it was very dim, but as it grew brighter he saw a shape to it. It was a red, glowing hazard symbol. The glow pierced the darkness as no other light had done, illuminating the bridge and parts of the monster, but not reaching as far as the walls, to which WarriorSetomon clung. He finally caught sight of the beast, and he immediately wished he hadn't.

The glowing hazard symbol rested on the red plate armor that guarded its chest. Below it had no legs, but rather a long, serpentine tail. Beside its chest were a pair of heavily-armored limbs with deadly claws and long blades sprouting from the armor on the forearms. Spread out wide behind it were a pair of massive orange wings that must have stretched up to the ceiling. Its mouth hung open to reveal rows of the biggest, sharpest, hungriest teeth that WarriorSetomon had ever laid eyes on, as well as a swollen, salivating, blood-red tongue. It's relatively small eyes seemed to gaze through the din into WarriorSetomon's very soul, hunting him as a cougar eyes its prey just before the kill. They were remorseless eyes, guiltless eyes, eyes that betrayed no agenda greater than slaying him right then and there.

"One way or another, I'm coming through!" WarriorSetomon shouted.

The great dragon focused its gaze in one him and reared up even taller than before. A low growl passed between its ravenous teeth and its savage claws grasped expectantly at nothing.

"I'm here for the Destroyer! That means you either step aside or I go right through you! Your choice!"

The digimon let out an agitated roar that sent chills down WarriorSetomon's spine. But that didn't mean he was about to stop.

"Fine then!"

WarriorSetomon leaned forward and pushed his feet against the wall behind him. With a mighty jump he threw himself back toward the great beast, his blade ready to swing. As he flew he felt the beast's tail move, and he instinctively shoved his free hand straight downward. It saved him from a devastating blow from the fearsome appendage, but the rebound knocked him off his intended course. Where he landed, partly with the dragon's help, was in the mouth of the titanic demon. With less than a second to orient himself before it surely would have chomped down on him he shoved his blade up into the soft flesh behind one of the monster's massive canines and wrapped his free arm around one of the other teeth. With his feet he kicked and clawed away the ravenous, forked tongue. The putrid heat and rank odor spewed up from the belly of the beast was enough to bring tears to one's eyes, and the gagging mucous that coated everything around him burned to the touch, eager for his flesh.

The beast tried to bite down, but WarriorSetomon fought back with all his might, pushing the lower jaw away with his feet and keeping his back to the upper jaw even as he shoved his blade further and further up into the soft flesh by the tooth. Yet for all WarriorSetomon's struggling, his captor's jaws were far too strong to hold at bay, the tongue's grip far too tight to escape. His cage grew tighter and tighter, ready to crush him to death with but one final burst of effort. But as it had done on so many other occasions, fate smiled upon WarriorSetomon. His blade, digging further and further up into the dragon demon's jaw, finally struck a lucky target, probably a sensitive nerve ending. In an instant WarriorSetomon was back in the open air, flying, falling, down into the black maw below. He flailed wildly, and in doing so caught the edge of the bridge with his outstretched claw. He caught it, held tight, and swung into its solid frame with an agonizing gasp of relief.

Still covered in burning, frothy saliva and smelling of rotten death, he coughed in the gasps of air that he thought he would never get the chance to take. His gaze drifted back up to his adversary once his eyes opened again to see the creature in a fit of its own, reeling from the agony inflicted by its would-be meal. It hacked out flurries of spit mixed with blood and shook its whole body side-to-side, up and down. WarriorSetomon looked down at his right arm, hanging at his side with his sword still firmly clutched. The entire weapon and most of his arm was drenched in dark crimson blood. With a savage grunt he proceeded to drag himself back up onto the ledge to once again stare his opponent down. Once back atop the crumbling bridge he took a moment to kneel and catch his breath, not turning away from the great dragon for a second.

"Not so invincible now, are you?" he quipped between deep breaths.

The beast's eyes refocused on him and a vicious sneer appeared on its lips.

"I already told you I'm not backing down," said WarriorSetomon.

The dragon digimon slithered forward a bit, blood draining down the side of its mouth now. Apparently it was learning not to take its meal too lightly.

"I've been training to fight your master," WarriorSetomon said with a cocky smirk and renewed confidence. "If I can stand up to him, just imagine what I can do against you."

The dragon was not impressed. A low, reptilian growl escaped its lips as it leaned in close. WarriorSetomon stood to face his opponent, his fear long since having left him.

"Step aside or I'll come at you again, and this time I'll do much worse."

The dragon reared up to its full height again, its long serpentine body like a trunk supporting the great branches of its wings and arms. The pale glow grew stronger again, an angry, hate-filled light. Then it lunged forward with its great claws outstretched, plunging them into the bridge on which WarriorSetomon stood. Just before the stone gave out beneath him, WarriorSetomon jumped forward, using the dragon's arms like a springboard to propel himself forward even faster. He struck the dragon in the jaw with his whole body, throwing all his weight and strength into the hit. The raw force of the attack was actually enough to knock the beast back. While the behemoth was stunned WarriorSetomon raised his sword up over his head like a dagger and with a mighty yell he plunged it downward with all his might into the supple throat meat below. At first his blade stuck in the skin, but as he forced more and more weight onto the blade it finally broke through and punctured the artery he was aiming for.

As blood gushed out onto WarriorSetomon the dragon's claw shot up to its throat and tore the tiny creature away. Now held tight in the demon's fist, WarriorSetomon slashed viciously at the digits he could reach as he felt them rapidly tightening around his chest. With only seconds to spare before his body was crushed by the burly grip of his colossal opponent, WarriorSetomon again opted to strike for the nearest weak spot. He deftly shoved his sword into the spot where flesh met claw on the nearest finger, driving a wedge between the two and freeing himself once again when the dragon tossed him aside in pain.

WarriorSetomon hit the wall on his feet, but quickly ricocheted to avoid a devastating punch from the dragon's unwounded hand. He landed again on the disintegrating stone bridge, and though the beast's hands were far away he'd forgotten about the tail. The deadly appendage slammed up through the bridge beneath him a moment later, tossing him sky-high in the process. As he fell upwards it lashed at him again, this time coming down hard on him. He was sent plowing through the remains of the bridge, finally destroying it to the last and getting him some pretty nasty bruises in doing so. As rubble continued to rain down around him he managed to open an eye. There was the dragon again, leering over him like a judge, draped in black shadows and red glare. It looked like it was finished toying with him. It was then that he heard it issue its first words to him.

"Megido…Flame!"

The creature began to shake and an unearthly glow surrounded it. Its eyes shone with a deadly fire and its glowing insignia burned brighter than ever. Then there was a flash of light, a light devoid of all warmth and illumination, a light made only to bring pain and destruction, a light so terrible it burned the eyes just to see it. There was no noise then, only silence and the horrid light. Although the burst could have lasted no more than a moment the sensation of it lasted a small eternity. His flesh and fur seemed to burn away and become one with the void. No gravity, no directionality, no thought or memory. There was only the sensation of the moment, so powerful that the feeling of pain and sight of light became merged into a single, overpowering experience that left him ignorant to everything else.

Just as it had come upon him, the light rushed out and away, and he was left in complete darkness. There were no sensations at all then, but the peace of the moment could not last. Too soon, WarriorSetomon's body returned to him as he took in the foul air. The whole world returned to him. Though the light was worse by far, it was not so agonizing as the pain he found himself in then. His flesh and fur were raw and badly scorched. His limbs were lifeless beside him. His vision was weak and his nose was overwhelmed by the scent of seared tissue. Smoke rose from every corner of the room and a cloud of ash hung in the air, slowly settling onto him, the dragon and the walls. The now blackened stone walls of the chamber seemed to be crumbling. Great bricks dropped from the ceiling to the floor, many of them already broken by the intense heat of the attack the dragon had unleashed. The stone nearest WarriorSetomon glowed red hot and some of it was molten.

The dark dragon grinned its vile grin, immensely proud of itself. It towered over WarriorSetomon as terrible and unbreakable as ever. The only hint of displeasure in its eyes told of its displeasure at seeing its prey still alive. But it would soon rectify that. Once this meal was behind it, the beast would spread its wings and go forth to many more feasts. It would devour everything, leaving the world a scorched shell, an ashen wasteland. Its life began now.

"Fire, huh?" WarriorSetomon asked with a hacking cough.

The beast paused, staring down at him more intensely than before.

"You're hack pretty good. Pretty cough good…"

The monster bore its teeth again. WarriorSetomon began to sit up from where he had been plastered to the wall.

"You might have killed me just now…" WarriorSetomon said with returning strength. "You might have killed me if I were less evolved." He pulled his sword hand off from the wall. "You might have killed me if I hadn't been training." He freed his feet from the burnt cinders that held them. "You might have killed me if I wasn't made for fire." He opened his eyes defiantly and stared up at the dragon. "But you did not kill me."

The dragon lunged at WarriorSetomon with claws and teeth hungry for victory. WarriorSetomon jumped up and over the monster's head and it crashed into the wall full-steam, demolishing the blackened stone in his way. WarriorSetomon landed on the back of the dragon's skull and immediately set to work. He grabbed on tight with his left hand and with his right he jammed his sword again and again into the chinks in the armor plating at his feet. The beast shook violently beneath him, but WarriorSetomon's grip was strong and he stabbed again and again. He continued to stab even as he dove from side to side to avoid the massive, ungainly claws as they swiped at him. Then the dragon thrust itself straight up to the ceiling. WarriorSetomon had only an instant to roll away before the spot he was grabbing onto was thrust up through yards of solid stone. His reflexes proved their worth and he fell clear as the monstrous creature rammed its head up into the stone ceiling, sending crushed boulders raining down on all sides. WarriorSetomon had managed to grab a flap of thick hide on the beat's neck, but a falling chunk of stone crashed into him and he started to fall again. He tried to grab hold a second time, but his claws and sword only scraped along the impenetrable surface of the skin. He had nearly fallen to the tail when his hand touched and grabbed one of the sharp spikes jutting from the monster's spine. He instantly braced himself against it and stopped his fall. The remaining blocks of stone falling around him managed to miss him somehow, leaving him back in control.

WarriorSetomon began to climb up the dragon's back, precisely along the area where it could not reach. Its wings, arms and tail lashed at him from all sides, but he stayed strong and kept to his path. He had to move swiftly before the beast decided to throw its back against a wall. His claws felt their way up the sheer cliff of the monstrosity, holding on to even the slightest of cracks in the skin and using its spikes to full advantage. In only a few seconds he was there, the arch in the dead-center of the dark dragon's back. He held on tight with three of his appendages and with the fourth, his right hand, he wielded his blade. He made three quick, powerful slashes at the same point to weaken the skin just enough. The dragon shrieked and squirmed, overcome by its fury, but it would not stop him now.

"Flint Edge!"

WarriorSetomon shouted above the din, striking his blade ablaze again on the dragon's rough skin. He held his weapon back as far as he could. After only the slightest of pauses he struck, thrusting his burning blade into the spot he had just slashed, the spot at the height of the dragon's back. The creature let out a cry louder and more terrible than any that preceded it. Its limbs flailed uncontrollably in its last-ditch effort to drive WarriorSetomon away. But it was too late. In agony it fell limp and collapsed to the charred stone floor with a heavy groan. The cloud of ash sent up by the beast's fall was blinding, and the noise and power of it was enough to stun WarriorSetomon.

When the air and WarriorSetomon's eyes cleared, he found himself lying beside his sword, buried up to its hilt in the dragon's back. The beast below him still struggled for freedom, still grunted and moaned and clawed weakly with its enfeebled claws. But it could barely move now. Its threat had vanished, and WarriorSetomon could breathe a sigh of relief.

WarriorSetomon needed a moment to catch his breath. This was only the first challenge, and there would be a much greater one waiting for him at the heart of this stronghold. He stood and began to walk lazily toward the beat's head. He could see its eye, gazing up at him from where its head lay, staring at him, hating him, hungering for its freedom.

"You should have let me pass," he told the creature. "A friend of mine once took on three beasts stronger than himself all alone. I won't be stopped by one."

The dragon's writhing subsided as it lost its will to struggle uselessly, and instead focused its energy on hating WarriorSetomon.

"I know, what should you care. You probably don't even understand. You might be the strongest guy I've faced so far, but you're not the smartest."

That dark eye continued to stare at him, utterly focused without another thought in the world, still trying to get to him.

"It's all right, you don't have to be the smartest guy in the world. I'm not. My friend sure wasn't. I mean, taking on three at once…"

WarriorSetomon sat down with a sigh.

"He should have been here for this."

The dragon opened and closed its mouth as though it thought it just might be able to reach him with it.

"Guilmon."

The dragon stopped moving.

"I don't like killing, least of all those that don't deserve it."

The eye's expression changed.

"You don't know any better. The Destroyer is using you, but I don't think you're smart enough to be evil. Funny, don't you think? _Me_ calling someone not smart enough. SamuSetomon would get a laugh out of that, I guarantee it."

"You're right, I would."

WarriorSetomon looked up to the broken doorway. There stood SamuSetomon, cocky as ever.

"Looks like you've been cleaning house," she said in that usual tone of hers.

"Nice of you to stop by. A bit late, don't you think?"

"Hey, if you don't need me around I can just be on my way."

"Look, just what the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"The same thing it seems I'm always doing: watching out for your sorry butt."

"I could've used you a couple minutes ago!"

"Just be glad I got here at all. Do you know what traffic is like out there today?"

WarriorSetomon smiled. "Glad you could make it."

"Who's your new buddy down there?"

"Someone that wouldn't mind having you over for dinner. Why don't you come down and meet him? Maybe you could brush his teeth or something."

"I think I'll pass."

The dragon shook, almost in a panic, but it could still barely move. Its glowing light had faded to almost nothing now.

"I don't believe it…" SamuSetomon said as she peered down into the darkness. "It's Megidramon."

"Megidramon?"

"The dragon of Destruction. No wonder the Destroyer would want to keep one as a pet, right? We should kill it now while we can."

"Seems pretty harmless to me when he's not moving around so much."

Magidramon shook again, but more forcefully. It began to groan out strange sounds and tried to lift its wings.

"That thing will be the death of all of us if it lives. Kill it now or I will."

"It's not like it knows what it's doing! It's no smarter than your average fish!"

"Have you ever seen a fish raze an entire city in an instant? Flash-fry a forest? Turn mountains into craters? Kill it now!"

"Guil…mon…" Megidramon groaned.

The two of them both stopped and looked down.

"What did you say?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"Guilmon…" Megidramon groaned again. Something had changed in its eye. It was softer now, its red glow nearly gone, replaced by a familiar yellow.

"Kill it, pup. Kill it or I will."

"Can't you hear it? What it's saying?"

"Jen, Jen, Jen, Jeno."

"It's trying to trick you!"

WarriorSetomon's gaze met with Megidramon's, and in a moment there was a primal recognition between them. They recognized a bond they had both felt long-since broken.

"Guilmon…" WarriorSetomon said in a sweet, sad, nostalgic tone.

"Jenomon…" Magidramon muttered.

"Pup! Now!"

"Shut up! It's—"

"Then I will!"

SamuSetomon drew her katana and leapt into empty space. She grabbed the hilt with both hands, perfectly controlled and confident. She fell flawlessly, more of a dive really, and WarriorSetomon could only watch. In a second she had landed hard on Megidramon's head. She held her blade up to the air in her left hand and then spun it around, underhanded before thrusting it down hard. Its razor-sharp edge was perfectly precise; death was instantaneous.

Megidramon's gaze broke from WarriorSetomon's as his eye rolled back in his head. His data drained away and his body began to cave in to nothing. As they were lowered to the floor, WarriorSetomon could only stare in disbelief at SamuSetomon's cold, unfeeling eyes. Their silence was only broken by the metallic clank of WarriorSetomon's blade as it hit the floor, released from its prison in Megidramon's body.


	37. Unholy Offspring

I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to complete, but I had to make sure it was just right. It's an important chapter, and I hope you're as happy with it as I am.

* * *

The next few minutes were quiet. WarriorSetomon was still trying to put what had happened together and SamuSetomon was intent on moving further in. She crept quickly up the slowly-curving passages beyond the first chamber. She artfully negotiated the coal-black, high-sloped tunnel, no more than four or five feet wide. WarriorSetomon took up the rear, following as closely as he could for fear of losing her in this place. His head throbbed to think of what had just happened.

"How could you do that to him?"

SamuSetomon remained composed and utterly focused on pressing inward.

"That was Guilmon," WarriorSetomon went on. "Guilmon. Our friend."

"That was Megidramon, and he tried to kill you."

"I don't know how, but that was him. Believe me."

"I thought you said he was already dead."

"Then I guess I was wrong, because that was him. He said so himself."

"He was only trying to trick you to get you to pull out your sword. If you had he would have turned around and eaten you in a heartbeat. Killing him was the only way to keep you from doing something stupid."

"How can you be so calm? He was my friend and you killed him!"

"Keep it down or back away. I don't need you announcing to this whole place exactly where I am."

"I don't care! I really don't! Let the whole world come! Let them know that you killed my best friend!"

"Your best friend was already dead. You said it yourself. That was just another enemy standing in your way. How many just like him have you already killed?"

WarriorSetomon just glared at her, or what he thought was her. Again, the darkness made it nearly impossible to tell.

"But he was different," WarriorSetomon said after a minute. "He wasn't bad…"

"How many of those fighting outside do you think really are evil? They all have a reason to be here, most of them very different. Maybe they've been lied to or cheated, threatened, possessed, or any number of things. Your blade fell as swiftly on one as on the next, regardless of their reasons for being here. All you knew was that they were trying to keep you from fulfilling your own reason to be here, your purpose."

"But none of them were my friends. Guilmon was."

"That was not Guilmon, it was Megidramon."

"What's the difference? They're both the same digimon inside!"

"And if that was Guilmon? Would you want him to live like that? His body and mind twisted by the Destroyer into a weapon, condemned to servitude, to suffering…"

"It wasn't up to you."

"Well I did it anyway. Now stay sharp, we can't be distracted now."

"I'm not going to drop this. Guilmon could have been saved from the Destroyer, just like I was. He could have been himself again."

SamuSetomon let out a long, drawn-out sigh, but her steady pace went on without an instant of hesitation. "It never should have come to this, you know."

"What?"

"Guilmon only left your side so that you would be safe. You should have done what you were supposed to and gone back to File Island."

"What I was supposed to?"

"You have a bad habit of ignoring fate, pup. This right here is the last place you ought to have ended up at, but here you are. You should be safe back on your island, or dead a dozen times over, or even just another puppet of the Destroyer."

"But I am none of those."

"I can only assume there must be some deeper reason for it to have come to this."

"As far as I'm concerned, the only reason I'm here is because the Destroyer just couldn't leave me alone."

"What?"

"That monster…he's hounded me my whole life. Even in my dreams I can't escape him. He took everything from me, including Guilmon. And now I finally had a chance to get him back, to undo even a small part of what that bastard has done to me, and you just can't let me have it."

SamuSetomon stayed silent.

"I don't expect your pity; I gave up on your having that long ago. I don't expect you to bring him back, or that you'll even say you're sorry."

"So what do you expect to come from this?"

"Nothing. I don't even know why I bother."

"I just think you want me to feel as bad about this as you do."

"Maybe."

"Well I'm not going to; at least not right now. Like it or not there is work to be done here and feeling bad is only going to get in the way of that."

"I can't believe you anymore. All this time I thought that deep down you had feelings, but you really are just a cold, angry bitch."

"Sounds like the pup has finally found his tongue."

"Don't call me that anymore. I'm not the dumb, weak little kid you knew."

"Maybe, but you're still dumb and weak."

"Why the hell did I ever put up with you for this long?"

"Because I was always saving your life, just like I'm doing right now. Face it, you will not leave this place alive without me."

"Maybe I'm willing to take that chance."

"If you want to fight I would absolutely love to at a more convenient time, but in case you had forgotten we have more important matters to deal with right now. Now shut up, I think there's something up ahead."

"This is not over."

They walked the next few feet in silence before emerging into a second colossal chamber. Fortunately, this room was made visible by hundreds upon hundreds of flickering candles, some clustered together on the floor, others set up on candleholders of all possible heights, styles and configurations. Short candles, tall candles, thick and narrow candles; some nearly melted, others freshly-lit, all of them dancing to the tune of the darkness. Beneath their unsteady gaze glowed the ornately-worked floor which held a series of radiating circles, some with carved writing in them, others with crafted relief scenes, always building outward from one to the next, neglected and drowned in melting wax. The ceiling stretched well beyond the reach of the hundreds of tiny flames, leaving a great void overhead, like a night with neither stars nor a moon, black and terrible. Though the candles seemed to be mostly arranged at random around the center of the room, there was a path about four feet wide cutting through the middle, stretching from the doorway WarriorSetomon looked out from to the other end of the room where another doorway stood.

"Is it too much to ask that things be easy just _once_?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"Maybe nobody's home," said SamuSetomon.

"As if we could be that lucky."

"Well hanging back here won't do us any good. Now come on; I'll take the lead, you follow ten paces behind me."

"Got it."

SamuSetomon drew her katana in her left hand and held it straight, down and away from her, ready for action in the blink of an eye. One foot in front of the other, she skulked out into the open room. Her ears perked up, listening closely to the sounds of melting wax and burning wicks. When she'd gone about ten paces out, WarriorSetomon began to move forward, his right hand reaching over his shoulder to the hilt of his sheathed sword. His feet fell softly on the old stone floor, his eyes and ears hunted in the darkness for signs of the next foe. But for all the caution, all the searching the two of them displayed, it was for naught.

"It took you long enough," said a dark voice from the opposite end of the room.

The two Setomon froze in place, their muscles tense with anticipation. A lumbering figure moved forward from the far passage, out of the shadow and into the dim candlelight. It was a strange digimon, like a horse and rider fused together, but not quite a centaur. Its upper body was like that of a man, but at the waist it became a horse, complete with a head. But while the horse body was black, the head was skeletal and crimson with a dagger-like horn protruding from the top. From head to hoof the bizarre knight was decked out in full, golden samurai armor. A heavy, orange cape cascaded down the digimon's back and its long, black tail swished at imaginary flies. He held a sword in each hand, a thin, swift katana in his left and a long, broad, golden sword with engraved red lettering in his right. Adorning his helmet was an enormous crescent moon, golden like the rest of his armor.

"And you are?" WarriorSetomon asked from well behind SamuSetomon.

"I am Zanbamon the Cruel, and I am here to see to it that you never lay eyes on my father, the Destroyer."

"The Destroyer's son?" WarriorSetomon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't care who you are," said SamuSetomon. "Nobody stands in our path."

"Then I'll let my blades speak for me," Zanbamon said as he tightened his grip on his weapons.

Zanbamon burst into a charge. With terrible speed he closed in on SamuSetomon. He brought his katana to her head, but her own blade deflected the attack and stopped his great weight in its tracks. Undeterred, Zanbamon reared up on his back hooves, kicking at SamuSetomon's face. She pulled back to avoid the blows, but that gave Zanbamon enough room to move in again, slashing at her with his katana. She backed away with every swipe, closing the distance between herself and the as-of-yet stationary WarriorSetomon.

Then she saw her chance. When Zanbamon slashed to the inside she reached out with her right hand and grabbed his wrist, holding it and its sword in place. Flipping her katana upside down in her other hand, she spun around to her left, intending to shove her blade right through Zanbamon's neck and end it in a single, clean thrust. Zanbamon had other plans though, swinging the broad side of his other, larger sword right into her head. The crushing blow knocked SamuSetomon clear across the room and headfirst into the stone wall. She fell there, unconscious.

"Pathetic," said Zanbamon. "Just pathetic."

"You bastard," WarriorSetomon said with a snarl.

"What's this?" asked Zanbamon. "Think you can do any better?"

WarriorSetomon didn't waste another second. He came in low and fast, not drawing his sword until the last second. Then he jumped, clearing Zanbamon's swift swords, clearing the top of his head. He landed hard and fast behind the colossal fiend; his strike was just like his landing, gouging the tendons just above Zanbamon's rear hooves. It was a fearsome blow to the dark digimon, but his retaliation was swift and brutal. WarriorSetomon was dealt a mighty kick to the face from Zanbamon's massive hooves. He was tossed through the air and tumbled along the ground for a couple yards before coming to a rest. He was back on his feet right away, keeping his eyes on Zanbamon even as he spit out a couple teeth.

Zanbamon had trouble turning around after WarriorSetomon's attack, but that the digimon couldn't charge anymore didn't make his swords any less sharp. Zanbamon was a dangerous opponent, very strong and certainly vicious; demon spawn to be sure. Even so, WarriorSetomon could tell there was something wrong here.

"I would have expected better," said WarriorSetomon.

"Oh I assure you, I am the best."

"We'll see about that…"

WarriorSetomon charged again, swinging his sword up to meet Zanbamon, but Zanbamon countered by knocking his swing away with his own great blade. WarriorSetomon swung back and Zanbamon parried again. Then WarriorSetomon tried bringing his sword down from above; Zanbamon deflected it again and kicked at WarriorSetomon with his heavy front hooves. WarriorSetomon bent and twisted out of the way of Zanbamon's furious kicks until he saw his chance and grabbed one of the hooves in his left hand and shoved Zanbamon back with all his might. Zanbamon quickly lost his balance and fell over backwards; before WarriorSetomon could deliver a finishing blow though Zanbamon reached out with his larger sword and tripped his enemy's legs out from under him, giving himself enough time to right himself with a few violent bucks. WarriorSetomon was back on his feet just as fast.

"Just like dear old dad says," Zanbamon said with an unseen toothy smirk. "You would have made a fine addition to our ranks. It's too bad you chose death over joining us."

"If I die today, it will not be at your hands," said WarriorSetomon.

"You will never see the Destroyer, boy. Your time is up."

"You may hit like a train, but you're about as subtle," WarriorSetomon said with a look of disgust. "You don't know the first thing about combat."

"You'll be singing a different tune when I crush your head beneath my hooves, runt," Zanbamon retorted, drool flinging out from his mask.

"At this rate, you will be dead with three more swings of my sword," said WarriorSetomon. "I'll count them just so you know when you're going to die."

"Count this! Cross Slash!"

Zanbamon swung his swords in front of him in an x-pattern, sending out a wave of energy straight toward WarriorSetomon. The warrior stood his ground unflinchingly, calmly raising his sword upright in front of him. Zanbamon's attack split the air with tremendous speed and collided with WarriorSetomon's blade. The attack hit hard, but against WarriorSetomon it simply split apart, rending the ground on either side of its target but leaving the hero unharmed.

WarriorSetomon took advantage of Zanbamon's untrained surprise and leapt in with all his strength behind his sword. He swung down hard and fast; Zanbamon raised his katana to parry the blow, but so forceful was WarriorSetomon's sword that Zanbamon's weapon shattered under it and the greater bulk of the blade was sent flying into the darkness.

"One," WarriorSetomon said in a sharp, clear tone.

"You have already lost," Zanbamon grunted. "There is no hope."

Zanbamon raised his remaining weapon high overhead and brought it crashing down hard and fast, but with his usual grace and speed WarriorSetomon rolled out of the way. Zanbamon never raised his weapon again, as WarriorSetomon rapidly moved in to make his counterattack; with a swift, precise slash he severed Zanbamon's arm at the shoulder, cutting through nearly two feet of heavy armor, flesh and bone. Zanbamon's shriek was as terrible and vengeful as any WarriorSetomon had ever laid ears on.

"Two," WarriorSetomon announced with renewed clarity of mind.

"And if you kill me?" asked Zanbamon with a heavy groan and more spit, holding his bleeding stump with his left hand after having dropped the broken remains of his katana. "Will you go running off to face dear old dad? He will make you wish you had sat down before me and offered me your neck."

"I'll see for myself. In the mean time, I'll just take yours."

WarriorSetomon gripped his sword firmly in hand and executed a full-body spin. Zanbamon instinctively raised his remaining arm to protect himself, but it did him no good. WarriorSetomon's blade carried enough torque to cleave right through it and continue on to its main target. The blow struck with incredible speed; more speed than WarriorSetomon had been willing to reveal thus far. Zanbamon's left hand and his head were thrown clear of his body, and before either hit the ground, Zanbamon had completely disintegrated.

"Three," WarriorSetomon said to himself as he lowered his sword to his side, wiping the blood on his jeans.

"Nicely done."

WarriorSetomon's ears perked up, but he knew right away it was only SamuSetomon.

"Are you alright?" he asked without looking back to her.

"Neck's a little stiff, but otherwise unharmed," she assured him as she approached closer. "Those were some nice moves back there."

"He wasn't worth them. If he'd been a better fighter I might have actually needed your help."

"I can't believe I let him get the drop on me like that. Just don't let it get to your head that you beat him when I didn't."

"I have no doubt you'd have made short work of him."

"Probably shorter than you did, but you still did well for a pup," she said from directly behind him now.

"The Destroyer will push us to our limits, so the tougher you are the better."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

Suddenly all the candles WarriorSetomon could see bent away from him as if caught in a strong gust of wind. With only an instant to react, he made the right move. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang in his ears. He had jolted his arm up over his back with sword in tow, and it had saved his life. His sword still rung against the cold, black metal of SamuSetomon's katana, frozen only inches from WarriorSetomon's neck. WarriorSetomon's backlash had drawn the candles back toward him while those behind him were still flung forward by SamuSetomon's swing; the flames joined and peaked at the middle where the swords met.

WarriorSetomon would have liked to stay there and let the moment take him, but his instincts were too finely honed. He shoved SamuSetomon's blade back with his own as he rolled into a somersault, turning as he completed it to face his new enemy. She only stared at him, her expression a cold fury. Her weapon was still outstretched toward him, a few of his red hairs draped over its rigid edge. For a moment their eyes were locked, searching one another.

"You just won't quit…" SamuSetomon said almost sadly as she drew her smaller blade in her right hand. "You refuse every attempt to save you."

"What have you done?"

"You won't even let me give you a quick, easy death."

"Why did you do that?"

"You ignore every warning, every chance to escape."

"How could you do that?"

"You've brought it to this yourself; you've left me no choice."

"Who are you?"

SamuSetomon looked at him with those cunning, yellow eyes of hers. They were just like his in shape, size and color, but their eyes were truly different.

"I am SamuSetomon, formerly Setomon, formerly Jenomon. I have saved you from everything from starvation to Mephismon. I have been your friend and confidant, your savior, your overseer. But of all the things I have been, one came first, and will persist to the last: I am the Destroyer's daughter."

WarriorSetomon's face refused to give voice to his heart, but his quivering words told all. "You…you be-betrayed m-me…"

"Never."

"You have!"

"I was never loyal to you to begin with."

"You lie!"

"I have only ever served my father. He was the one that ordered me to keep an eye on you."

"No!"

"He was the one that ordered me to protect you."

"It's not true!"

"He was the one that ordered me to send him Guilmon."

WarriorSetomon's face froze.

"And now he is the one that has ordered me to kill you."

"You gave him Guilmon?"

"My father has been reluctant to have you killed."

"My friend!"

"He even pitted Mephismon and I against one another to decide whether or not you would have one more chance to join us."

"…So he could turn him into that _THING_!"

"He has shown you unique generosity, pup. And you spit in his eye for it."

"ENOUGH!" WarriorSetomon roared. "SamuSetomon, what you've done to me and to Guilmon is something I will _never_ forgive you for! No matter the cost, I will kill you!"

"Then show me your sword and I'll show you why you're still a pup!"

WarriorSetomon charged, leading with his free hand and holding his sword out to his side. SamuSetomon rose up on the balls of her feet, holding her dagger underhanded and her katana straight forward. WarriorSetomon stopped just as he reached her and thrust his blade; she wrapped her sword around his and yanked it down and out of the way, meanwhile spinning around to jab her dagger into his neck. He ducked beneath the attack and slid his left foot forward into her shin to trip her. She fell forward but caught herself with her right hand. She used the force of the fall to force he lower body up and over to spin-kick WarriorSetomon in the face. He took the blow and fell away from her. She completed her flip and landed on her feet just as WarriorSetomon was getting his footing again. She saw her chance and swiped at his neck with her katana, but his lightning-fast reflexes served him well and he pulled back just far enough to save himself. He countered immediately, thrusting his sword at her chest. She reacted as fast as he had, catching his sword between her two blades and holding it, only inches from her chest.

"He wanted it this way," she said as she pressed back against WarriorSetomon's insistent thrust.

"Guilmon would never want this."

"Power was all he ever asked of my father, and that is what he got."

SamuSetomon pushed back hard, sending the locked blades up to WarriorSetomon's throat, but rather than lose his head he rolled back. SamuSetomon rolled up onto him and with a foot to her chest he tossed her onto her head. Even still on the ground he took a swing at her, but her lithe frame dodged just barely out of the way. They both righted themselves quickly and stared one another down again.

"That's what they all want."

"Not me," said WarriorSetomon.

SamuSetomon came in fast with a downward chop, but WarriorSetomon deflected it off his sword, holding the hilt in one hand and the tip in the other. SamuSetomon came again, very fast from the side. WarriorSetomon took a step back and deflected it again like before. This continued, her swinging fast and hard, again and again and again too fast for the human eye to see; he blocked, dodged, bobbed and weaved every attack, backing away every time. She advanced, he retreated, she struck, he defended. The sound of metal clashing with metal rang out so fast and loud that one blow would blend into the next without end. Each swing would send the candles flickering away from it. Then on one particularly heavy over-handed swing WarriorSetomon saw a chance. As her blade slammed into his he shoved the hilt-end forward, knocking her sword-arm back just enough for him to land a powerful spin kick on the side of her head. She was tossed into the field of candles, but landed on her right hand and repelled into a flip that landed her firmly on her feet.

"You don't care about anyone but yourself!" WarriorSetomon shouted. "You'll kill friends and allies as soon as you would your enemy!"

"Alliances are only as strong as their weakest members."

"You killed Guilmon! He was your friend and he was on your side, but you killed him all the same!"

"If he could be beaten by you then he was useless all along. Kuroittou Shuurai!"

SamuSetomon leapt forward faster than WarriorSetomon had ever seen her move. Her blade was outstretched and aimed right at him; he had less than a heartbeat to react but even for him that wasn't enough. He tried to fall back out of the way of the attack, but he just wasn't fast enough. The razor-sharp weapon caught the edge of his face as he tried to duck, running its edge up the right side, slicing through his tough flesh like it was nothing.

WarriorSetomon fell to the ground and instinctively held his hand to his face. He didn't have even an instant's rest though, as when his eyes reopened he saw SamuSetomon's katana striking down toward his neck. He rolled out of the way and up onto his heels as her sword struck stone. Still crouched, he swung his sword back at her, which she dodged easily enough. WarriorSetomon reluctantly removed his hand from his face; it was covered with blood and a long, broken slice ran through his lip and forehead, missing his right eye by millimeters.

"You sat there and let me kill your brother, Zanbamon."

SamuSetomon smirked back at him. "Zanbamon was no brother of mine; merely a stand-in for me so I could watch you fight."

"Still, you just threw his life away like it was nothing."

"In here or out there, he was destined to die either way."

WarriorSetomon blitzed SamuSetomon again, staying close to the ground for his first broad slash; she deflected it and retorted with a swipe of her own, but he dodged and made a long slice upwards, which she parried with her dagger before making another downward thrust with her katana. WarriorSetomon twisted his sword, knocking her right hand into her left and breaking her attack. He lunged upward with all his might, but she blocked his sword with her blades, holding them strong against his deadly might. Their bodies trembled as they pushed as hard as they could against one another.

"He would have died out there just like all the others," SamuSetomon said slyly.

WarriorSetomon only stared back at her, fully immersed in the struggle.

"That is why Omnimon was allowed to gather his forces. Now that they are all here my father can wipe them all out at once."

"Not if I wipe him out first!"

WarriorSetomon moved his sword and watched his and her blades slide off one another. Before she could act he brought his blade around and chopped hard and fast from above. She managed to catch his attack between her katana and dagger as she put her foot to his chest and kicked him back. He fell, rolled, and hopped back up on his feet just in time to deflect her latest attack away from his chest. As he spun to deflect with one hand he came around with the other and slapped the back of her head as hard as he could. She headed down, but stopped herself right away by jamming her dagger into his left arm just below the shoulder. He dropped to his knees with a fearsome growl. The strength of his right arm faltered, giving SamuSetomon a chance to free her sword from his and a clean shot at his neck. She took it.

With no time to think, WarriorSetomon did exactly what Bahadramon had trained him to do: he improvised. As the blade drew in he dropped his head and opened his mouth. The blade went in but not through, as he clamped his vice-like jaw down hard on the black metal. He could taste blood right away, oozing from his tongue and the sides of his mouth, but he held tight.

"There is nothing you can do, nowhere to run now, pup. You will die here by my hand. That is your purpose."

With renewed strength, WarriorSetomon slammed his left elbow into SamuSetomon's sternum three times in rapid succession. Even with the wind knocked out of her she held fast to his shoulder and to her katana. She tried to kick him away, but it was nearly impossible to get any strength into a blow from that range. WarriorSetomon took the advantage and grabbed her by the throat with his left hand. With her fully immobilized he quickly brought his right hand up to meet his left, along with the long edge of his sword. SamuSetomon knew she had to surrender a weapon or surrender her life, so before he could slash her throat wide open she let go of her katana and grabbed WarriorSetomon's right wrist.

WarriorSetomon saw his chance. He jerked his head sharply to the right, which pulled the katana in his mouth along with it. The tip of the blade sliced into SamuSetomon's left arm, drawing a long, red line through her off-white, wrapped shirt. She immediately pulled away, taking her dagger with her. She knew it was a mistake right away, and that was confirmed a second later when WarriorSetomon rose to his feet and took her sword in his left hand.

"Do you have what it taketh?" WarriorSetomon asked with a bleeding tongue. "Can you fight off thomeone with two thworth when all you have ith that dagger?"

"Pup, against you I could win with a feather-duster."

WarriorSetomon spit out a mouthful of blood. "Your overconfidenthe will kill you thomeday. I intend to make that day today."

"Your odds of winning are even less now with those swords, pup. It's simply a matter of adjusting my tactics!"

SamuSetomon moved in lightning-fast. Before WarriorSetomon could even make a move she was right up against him. She shoved her right forearm hard up into his throat, put her dagger to his back and used her left leg to pull his right foot out from under him. WarriorSetomon fell right over backwards with SamuSetomon right on top of him and her dagger pointing up at his back. They landed with a heavy thud.

But the blade did not pierce WarriorSetomon's back. He had landed hard under their combined weight, and he had done so entirely on his elbows, stretched as far behind him as he could get them. It had saved him from being impaled, but it hadn't done his arms much good.

SamuSetomon eyed him, not about to let him get away with surviving. She moved to shove the blade in herself, but WarriorSetomon lashed his tail around her hand and yanked it and the dagger away. That gave him the chance to throw his right forearm into her face and roll her over, bending her arm behind her in the process. She immediately responded with three very tough head-butts that forced him away just enough that she could free her arm and punch him in the jaw. He fell back, but in the struggle they kicked SamuSetomon's dagger away while WarriorSetomon maintained his hold on both swords.

SamuSetomon slashed at him with her deadly, curved claws, but he rolled and ducked back out of the way while she continued to advance. After a few seconds he was able to get his footing strong enough to make a counterattack with her katana, which she dodged easily enough. Still, it gave her enough pause to let WarriorSetomon gain a little much-needed distance. She was right after all; at extremely close range he couldn't counter with two swords. Still, instead of ditching one of the blades and giving SamuSetomon a chance to grab a weapon again, he would simply have to keep her from getting into extremely close range.

"I'm beginning to see why my father wanted you so badly," SamuSetomon said with a stern gaze. "You can be trained to fight after all."

WarriorSetomon's only response was to spit out another mouthful of blood.

"Your eyes are so full of hate…"

"That'th all I got left for you."

"Your hands smell of so much blood…"

"Blood you forthed me to thpill."

"So much anger, pain, passion…"

"I wanted none of it."

"And still you refuse to submit."

"Never!"

"We are not in the wrong here, pup! We are merely cleaning away the filth that has corrupted this world. We are merely preparing the way for the _Fifth Eye_ to return."

"You betrayed uth! How many more would you kill? How many have to die before you thee what you have done? How many liveth will it take to make you thee?"

"My eyes are clear! I am the right hand of righteous destruction, the herald of this world's rebirth! I am without peer among the mundane warriors in this world, and I will prove it to you now!"

"I will cut you down before you can get clothe enough to touch me!"

"This is my lesson to you, pup: a true warrior is never caught without a contingency."

With a steely look in her eyes, SamuSetomon reached back over her shoulder and took the wooden pole of her flag in her hand. She slid it slowly, easily from where it was strapped to her back, and when it was freed she grabbed it in both hands. Though most of the tips were blunted, the bottom of the long section came to a sharp point. On closer inspection, WarriorSetomon realized that the item he previously believed to be purely decorative was in fact very well-built, solid, and a weapon in its own right. The crimson and black flag flapped in the thick air as SamuSetomon shifted her weapon in her hands.

"You are weak, pup. You may have a warrior's skill, but you lack the instinct. You have no drive, no desire, no talent for this kind of life."

"I don't want to do thith; I have to."

"Then why are you still holding back? Come on, let me see all you have to offer! Let me rest easy knowing you gave me everything you had and I still crushed you!"

"I hate you. I hate you even more than the Dethtroyer that hath ruined my life. At leatht he wath honetht about it. But you…I'm going to enjoy making you pay."

"Then let's end this nonsense! Let your hate be your weapon!"

"Time to die."

WarriorSetomon charged, leading off with a high slash from his broadsword, followed by a complete spin that brought his katana in right behind it. SamuSetomon deflected both attacks with her standard and quickly shoved the pointed tip at WarriorSetomon's exposed Achilles tendon. He managed to kick her weapon away and slammed his broadsword hard up against her standard to paralyze her movements. He then pulled back his left hand, aiming the katana for her chest, and thrust forward. She responded immediately, overcoming WarriorSetomon's domineering strength and swinging her banner up to deflect the katana and at the same time wrench WarriorSetomon's right arm from the force of the twist.

The Destroyer let loose a great, sinister cackle as he watched over the battle raging below. WarriorSetomon's fate was sealed; Omnimon's legion would soon be a stain on the red earth; victory was a certainty from now on.

"You seem to be doing well for yourself," said a figure from the shadows.

The Destroyer eyed the intruder briefly. "What, is the Vanguard here to spoil my fun?"

"Just reminding you to continue according to plan. We do not want you losing your head."

"You believe I would stop now?"

"I believe you care more about yourself than the Grand Scheme."

"I assure you, my loyalties are far stronger than your own. I was made for this. I am fulfilling my purpose."

"That animal downstairs was made for one purpose and has rejected it. If he can do so, I wonder why you could not do the same."

"There is no escaping fate," the Destroyer said with a sinister snicker. "The hatred running in his veins is so strong; stronger even than the corruption I programmed into him. If he loses, he dies and SamuSetomon will have proven herself my most powerful student."

"And if he should win?"

"He will have to kill SamuSetomon to do so. And when he does, it will destroy whatever will he has left. He will replace my daughter beside me, and I shall have an even more powerful student to take up my standard."

"So then you have thought of everything as usual."

"How well you know. Make note of this day, as it signals the beginning of the end. Once Omnimon and his little band of ruffians are routed, the Guardians stand exposed, and the greatest cities in each quadrant are reduced to ruins, the sun will set on this age of order, and we will witness a second age of chaos. Though the past millennium may have been pitiful, at least it will end in glory."


	38. Face to Face

WarriorSetomon struck hard and fast. He came down with a chop from above with the katana in his left hand, but SamuSetomon deflected it with her heavy wooden standard. Even while his rival was dealing with one blade, WarriorSetomon brought in his second for a straight thrust to her heart. SamuSetomon completed a half spin of her weapon, continuing to divert the katana with one half and doing the same to the second attack as well. By the time she had completed a full spin, WarriorSetomon had his arms wrapped tightly around one another; so tightly he swore the bones were ready to snap.

They stared into one another, able see the sweat dripping off each other's brows. Blood seeped from the open wound stretching down the right side of WarriorSetomon's face. Their eyes met, both pairs caught in the same furious rage. WarriorSetomon would not be beaten so easily. He gathered his strength and unleashed it with a terrific roar. His arms fought back against SamuSetomon's stranglehold, spinning her flag back around too fast for her to stop it, and the blades came at her chest and head from both sides.

With only an instant to react before she would be trisected, SamuSetomon shoved her arms forward into WarriorSetomon's chest with all her might. The blow knocked WarriorSetomon back off his feet, and he could only watch helplessly as his swipes passed their target harmlessly before he landed hard on his back. SamuSetomon followed up the counter with immediate retaliation, jumping onto WarriorSetomon's chest with both feet, raising the pointed tip of her standard above his throat, and thrusting downward with all her might. WarriorSetomon's only recourse was to catch the tip in his right hand and jab the tip of his katana into her ribs with his left. Stunned by the sudden maneuver, SamuSetomon only looked at him for a moment, thrusting ever-harder toward his throat. After a few moments through, she could no longer take the pain in her side and pulled back, instinctively applying pressure to the wounded spot with her right hand.

WarriorSetomon rose again, flinging the blood from the tip of his katana. In his right hand he casually, effortlessly spun his broadsword around, loosening his wrist, elbow and shoulder. His eyes remained firmly set on their target; unblinking, unrelenting, unforgiving. Then he struck again, this time leading with a forward thrust from his broadsword. Despite her wounds, SamuSetomon was as agile as ever, jumping up and landing atop the flat surface of the blade before rebounding off backward. As she fell she spun her flag over her head like a propeller, slowing her fall enough to land well away from WarriorSetomon, amid the field of candles.

With WarriorSetomon's momentary indecision, SamuSetomon brought out another of her hidden talents. "Hitsuke Hyougou!" she shouted as she swept the flag-end of her standard across the candles, aiming for WarriorSetomon. The gust of wind kicked up by the flag proved to be much more than that, as it fanned the flickering flames into a tidal wave of fire. WarriorSetomon hit the floor immediately, just barely managing to escape being engulfed in flames; almost none of the fur on his back was left unsigned.

"Just die already!" SamuSetomon roared.

WarriorSetomon charged at her, staying low to the ground as he advanced. SamuSetomon fanned the flames again, sending another torrent of flame his way. But WarriorSetomon leapt over her attack; he jumped as high as he could, surveying the battleground from high overhead before once again plummeting into the fray. He dove straight for SamuSetomon like an eagle to its prey, fearsome and unrepentant. SamuSetomon raised the broadside of her weapon to block, but when WarriorSetomon brought both blades down hard on it and his heavy landing cracked the stone beneath his paws, she could only fold before the onslaught. Though she held tight to her standard, it was knocked right to the ground and she bent forward to follow. WarriorSetomon took his chance to slash at her head, but she ducked under the swing and bought herself just enough time to raise her flag vertical again and knock WarriorSetomon's left hand back a bit. She was back in fighting form in the fraction of a second it took him to move in with his right hand.

They matched one another hit for hit. Now it was WarriorSetomon who struck again and again, bringing both blades into play as he spun around and back, lunging and swiping in every possible combination of unsurpassed swordsmanship techniques, hammering away at his opponent. SamuSetomon was on the defensive for once, deflecting and repelling every attack that came her way, matching her opponent's speed to a fine point. The crack of metal against wood thundered in her ears. She shifted her feet back and forth, side-to-side, dodging and jumping, crouching and sliding, ever moving to the symphony of battle. Her breaths came fast and hard, her hands ached with the shaking of her standard; she had to strike back and do it now.

She made her move when she saw WarriorSetomon grip his broadsword firmly, his arm rigid, and the blade's broad face exposed to her. Seizing her standard tight in both hand, she slammed it into WarriorSetomon's exposed sword with such force that the vibrating metal shook WarriorSetomon's own arm into limp submission. SamuSetomon, however, didn't see this as she instantly bent the wooden pole back until it was taut and released, sending her weapon whipping into WarriorSetomon's left hand, ejecting the katana and nearly snapping his wrist. With WarriorSetomon's chest exposed, SamuSetomon stuck the base of her standard to the floor and used it to propel herself feet-first into her opponent's torso, knocking him back but not down. She repelled back over her standard, drawing it in as she landed and seizing the lower end in a solid, two-handed grip. For her coup d'état she swung the heavy top-end of her standard, into his side as hard and fast as she could. The stunning blow sent WarriorSetomon soaring right into the wall. He hit hard and fell limply to the ground.

"Hitsuke Hyougou!" SamuSetomon cried again, aiming the sharpened tip of her pole at WarriorSetomon and angling it downward. She plunged the rock-solid tip into the stone floor, and in doing so sent a surge of fire rippling through the ground on a beeline for WarriorSetomon. WarriorSetomon jumped wearily back to his feet and rolled clumsily out of the way as SamuSetomon's attack slammed into the wall he'd been leaning against a moment before and exploded in a tremendous fireball. But while he may have dodged one attack, he found himself losing strength rapidly, and it looked like there were to be more on the way.

"Hitsuke Hyougou!"

WarriorSetomon lunged forward out of the way of one attack and right into the path of another, but with a quick sidestep he allowed it to slip right past him and continue on to the wall. One after another, SamuSetomon's searing attacks scarred her chamber's floor with deep, charred trenches. Burning debris spurted in every direction as the flames came charging from her flag; smoke began to fill the air and ash rained down from above. WarriorSetomon's attempts to dodge grew clumsier and clumsier with every attack that came at him. Finally he saw the one that he couldn't avoid coming right at him. He fell into its path after dodging the previous attack, and he knew he would not get up in time.

SamuSetomon gave a satisfied smirk as she watched her attack finally plow right into WarriorSetomon, scoring a solid hit, dragging him across the floor and crushing him into the wall before finally exploding. But SamuSetomon's satisfaction was short-lived. She relaxed for only a moment, but it cost her dearly, for from the flame emerged a black projectile. Wrapped in her own flames, it came right at her. She tried to dodge, but by the time she saw it through the thick smoke and against the burning red background it was too late. The object slashed through her right leg, cutting nearly to the bone before digging itself into the ground a few feet behind her.

SamuSetomon collapsed to the ground immediately with an anguished roar. She immediately turned to see what had struck her, and saw it to be WarriorSetomon's broadsword, still aflame with her own attack. She quickly turned back again to behold her quarry. He lay half-buried beneath what smoking rubble remained of the wall he'd been slammed into. But in spite of his burns, lacerations and whatever other injuries he'd accumulated, he was still able to smile weakly at her.

They both found themselves drained. Neither still carried their swords; both suffered severe injuries and exhaustion. Yet still, they both had more than enough spirit to press on. SamuSetomon tried to rise first, but immediately realized she simply couldn't with her leg in such bad shape. WarriorSetomon, meanwhile, managed to shove the remains of the wall off himself and slowly started to crawl towards SamuSetomon. He felt like he could hardly breathe after taking that last hit on the chest, not to mention all the smoke he'd inhaled. SamuSetomon groped for her standard, having dropped it nearby. WarriorSetomon raced to get back the sword that jutted from the ground right behind SamuSetomon. He quickened his pace to as fast as he could possibly crawl as SamuSetomon stretched her shaking hand for her lost weapon.

SamuSetomon got to her standard first, taking it up with one final determined grab. WarriorSetomon paused when he saw SamuSetomon between himself and his weapon, once again armed. She aimed the pointed end his way to ward off any advance he might make, but her own heavy breathing warned her she might not be able to win another direct confrontation. Of course WarriorSetomon knew the same was true of himself, so he didn't dare advance any further. The both of them just lay there, staring one another down, waiting to see who would blink first.

"Cheap…shot…" SamuSetomon wheezed, shifting her maimed right leg.

WarriorSetomon wiped some of the blood from around his right eye. "No such thing in this fight."

"Wishing you'd just let me kill you yet?"

"Never."

"Why not?"

WarriorSetomon lunged forward, hoping to catch SamuSetomon off her guard. He should have known better. She scored a hit, but an awkward one, piercing his left bicep and tossing him to the side. WarriorSetomon rolled a few times before coming to a stop. He cradled his new open wound in his right hand and resumed his defensive position.

"Die already you little bastard!"

He grinned back at her. "Not today."

SamuSetomon snarled angrily. She whipped her flag around and struck the impaled sword behind her, knocking it clear across to the other side of the room, well out of WarriorSetomon's reach. She then raised her standard up over her head, holding it out flat with both hands together. She began to spin her weapon above her head like a propeller, slowly at first and gradually picking up speed. In a few seconds it had begun to kick up wind. A few seconds later it actually began to lift SamuSetomon up off the ground. As the winds grew stronger and filled the entire room, the flames on the candles began to stretch and distort, becoming long streams of fire that circled the chamber.

"Your purpose has been set, pup! You will die right here and now! Hitsuke Hyougou!"

SamuSetomon's standard spun faster still. She hovered several feet off the ground with the flames swirling further and further until they were drawn in to the spinning center of the vortex. Each burning candle fed a growing oculus of raw elemental fire. The flames concentrating over SamuSetomon's head surged in and out, trying to escape her waning grip. Then at the very instant she could hold no more, when it all seemed about to come exploding out, she dipped her flag down and stopped it dead in its tracks, aiming directly for WarriorSetomon.

With a thunderous crack, the flames that had been built up, contorted and filtered into their purest form shot from SamuSetomon's standard. WarriorSetomon could only close his eyes as the infernal torrent swallowed him whole.

As the battle within reached new heights, so did the battle without.

"This way!" GuardiAngemon shouted above the din as her cut down a pair of Devidramon in front of him.

"Lead the way!" MagnaAngemon shouted back, falling in-line behind him along with Angewomon.

The three dove to build up speed, the leader slicing through anything that blocked their way. They dove past wild attacks, under and between combatants locked in deadly aerial maneuvers, bobbing and weaving under the thick blanket of combat that hung over the land war below. Then, not even a hundred feet above the ground, they broke their dive and headed straight forward toward the stronghold at the center of this fray. Now they not only had to deal with the pillars of fire raining down from the Destroyer's forces above, but also the mad mass of digimon below them, some even big enough to pluck them from the sky. Explosions sent allies and enemies alike hurtling through the air that the three angels had to avoid. Attacks of all kinds whirled about them, often demanding split-second reactions and an almost clairvoyant awareness of their surroundings. But for all the dangers, all the close-calls and near misses, in spite of everything that stood in their way, they were getting closer.

Then came the greatest obstacle of all. From out of the black cloud of war just overhead emerged the great black bird Ornithmon. He struck straight down with the speed of a lightning bolt and the fury of a tornado. He shoved his talons directly down onto GuardiAngemon and hammered him straight into the ground. The monstrosity never slowed in the least, just driving GuardiAngemon full-steam into the dirt and throwing every digimon within fifty feet clear of the newly formed crater. Before Ornithmon could really lay into GuardiAngemon, though, Justimon dropped out of the sky right after him, landing hard on the creature's back and socking it in the side of the head with his Thunder Clap. But as Ornithmon began to fall away a projectile shot up from the nearby crowd and slammed into Justimon's back, knocking him out of the sky.

GuardiAngemon, freed of Ornithmon's claws, leapt up to confront Justimon's assailant, but as he approached a hulking hands shot toward him trailed by a long, spindly brown arm. It grabbed him by the face and threw him down into the dirt again as the arm's owner and Justimon's assailant made himself known by leaping above the crowd. It was that Diaboromon again.

Still in fighting shape, GuardiAngemon hacked at the hand on his face until Diaboromon withdrew it and unleashed a volley of Web Wreckers. Under that heavy armor, GuardiAngemon was able to shrug off the attack and launch to counterattack. But as he drew near, Diaboromon kicked away from him and fired again. Being close to his two companions, GuardiAngemon delivered his orders.

"Go on ahead! I'll finish off these two with Justimon and catch up!"

"Yes, sir!" MagnaAgnemon and Angewomon shouted before taking off for the stronghold again, now without their leader.

SamuSetomon let out a long roar as she sustained her incredible attack. Though her own fire bit at her hands, threatening to come right back at her, she held strong. The stream of fire continued to pour down on WarriorSetomon, slowly engulfing the entire side of the room on which he stood.

But as SamuSetomon's power wasted away and the infernal flow began to fizzle, she began to see a dark form amidst the sea of red flames. It stood there, hulking, menacing, black against its surroundings. It was WarriorSetomon, standing there stalwart against even her greatest attack. SamuSetomon lost control of her rage when she caught sight of him and put everything she had into what remained of her attack. The size of the flaming pillar doubled in a burst of strength and the stone floor as of yet untouched by the flames cracked and fell several inches under the increased pressure. But the dark form did not dissipate; far from it. It seemed as though its eyes, WarriorSetomon's eyes, began to glow with the intense flames that surrounded him. He stood there with bent knees, his arms braced in front of him, surrounded but untouched by the fire.

SamuSetomon's roar grew louder, her attack stronger, and WarriorSetomon's eyes brighter. The ground shook. Bricks fell from the ceiling. Anything not tied down was thrown back against the wall or swallowed up in the flames. But finally, SamuSetomon's strength gave out, though he spirit would not. The last of her burning attack left her and all that followed them was a great gust of wind that cleared the flames from around WarriorSetomon. He stood there looking up at her. Flames erupted from his eyes and mouth; they curled around his strangely swollen arms and legs; his chest heaved in and out, and what flames had been blown back came rushing toward him again, wrapping him up, surrounding him. That was when SamuSetomon saw the truth: her attack had only fed WarriorSetomon with all the power he would need to kill her. The very second her attack came to a halt and she began to fall toward the ground, WarriorSetomon moved in with all the collected power of her attack.

With a raging inferno curling up his arms and gushing from his hands, WarriorSetomon leapt at SamuSetomon while she still hung in the air. He pounced up at her with both claws forward, shoving them into her chest. "Incendiary Strike!" he shouted as he let loose with everything he'd gathered. An immense wave of fire exploded from his hands and overtook the relatively untouched half of the room in an instant. SamuSetomon disappeared right from underneath his palms, her form vanishing in the brilliant but deadly light.

With one more flash of blinding light, WarriorSetomon's attack dissipated as suddenly as he had unleashed it. A puff of smoke escaped with his breath, and he fell back, down into the dark sea of sleep.

He hovered in a black place between life and death, a place with no sight, no sound, and nobody but himself. For a time he knew the peace of oblivion, the freedom of absolute solitude. He thought to himself how long he had wished for such a quiet place, and now he was ready to drift away on an endless, dreamless river.

A loud cough jolted WarriorSetomon back to consciousness. He felt the cool air once again enter his lungs, and in the same instant he remembered his body and how abused it had been. Every burn, laceration, scrape and bruise had been punished well beyond what he'd been expecting. Imbedded ash stung his cuts mercilessly. The smoke hanging in his lungs urged him to vomit, but he just didn't have the strength. His whole aching body screamed at him for rest, but his mind was too clouded to listen anymore. All he could think about was getting back to his sword to continue the battle that, for a little while, had become the entirety of his life.

So WarriorSetomon forced himself to roll over onto his stomach, immediately regretting the painful decision. But he pressed on despite the pain, dragging himself forward with just his right arm, as the rest of his body was completely unwilling to help. With only one eye open he peered around the room for any sign of his blade. After a hazy, bleary-eyed minute of looking, he saw its shape among a pile of rubble near the entrance and dragged himself toward it. The candles that had once filled the room were now strewn carelessly about the chamber, mostly extinguished and broken. The floor rose and sank unevenly with shattered bricks tossed at random about the floor. Almost everything was still warm to the touch, and more than a few wisps of smoke wafted from the ruins.

WarriorSetomon continued his long crawl, pulling himself along only a few inches at a time, stopping to rest every few yards. It seemed to take an eternity, that lonely march across the floor, but he made it all the same. He made it by himself, working for himself, learning from himself. In those long minutes, WarriorSetomon completed a journey as vast as the journey he'd had beyond those dark walls, and he had done it by himself. In the end he claimed the prize he sought, taking his sword back from the charred rubble and holding it firmly in his hand.

But once he reclaimed his sword, he saw what his focused eye had missed earlier. His sword was joined on that pyre by SamuSetomon, still in one piece. She was bleeding, bruised, burned and beaten. She lay there with her eyes closed and no breath upon her lips. WarriorSetomon took her for dead, but he had to know for sure. He let go of his sword and grabbed her ankle in his right hand. It took him a moment, but he could still feel warm blood running under her fur and skin, the slow but steady rhythm of her heartbeat. As if in response to his touch she coughed out a mouthful of coagulated blood and took air into her lungs again.

WarriorSetomon dropped her ankle and reached immediately for his sword. With his weapon back in his hands he pushed himself up onto the pile of debris, up over SamuSetomon. Holding himself as high and steady as he could, he laid the tip of his blade against SamuSetomon's chest.

Though he wanted to, he just couldn't watch as he killed her. He let his gaze fall away to his left and braced his arm to strike the final blow. But he hesitated a second longer. Around his left elbow he saw a dirty, bloody bandage, once almost white. Even in such a stupor he recognized it. He knew then he couldn't proceed and he dropped his sword again.

"Did the Destroyer ask you to bandage my arm?" WarriorSetomon asked. "Did he tell you to take me to Babamon for treatment after I was stabbed in the leg? Did he tell you to get those apples for me?"

SamuSetomon didn't respond, of course, but WarriorSetomon didn't want her to anyway.

"No matter what you say, I know the truth now. Deny it all you want. You cared about me."

WarriorSetomon sighed and looked down at the deep cut he'd inflicted on SamuSetomon's right leg. The wound was pretty deep and she could easily bleed to death from it.

The quiet stillness of the darkened chamber was broken by a long, tearing sound. WarriorSetomon was hunched over himself, ripping a long strip of cloth from around the base of his left pant leg. Once the strip was long enough he cut it from his pants and returned to SamuSetomon's leg, where he fashioned it into a simple bandage, much like the one he still wore on his arm.

"Don't think I'm doing this because I care about you. If you survive and we meet again, I won't hesitate to kill you. But I won't kill someone that can't fight back."

WarriorSetomon was silent for a moment while he worked.

"I'm only saving your life because you saved mine. As far as I'm concerned, this makes us even. It's just a matter of principle, nothing more." WarriorSetomon tightened his makeshift bandage to limit the blood flow.

"I know what you'd say about this. You'd call me a kid for doing this. You wouldn't give me any mercy if things were different right now. But if this makes me a kid, then that's fine, because that's what I want to be.

"And then you'd tell me how stupid I am, wasting all my energy fighting you and still planning to go after the Destroyer. Well maybe I am stupid, but I still don't care what you think."

WarriorSetomon finished up his work, checking it over to make sure it would hold and whatnot. It looked like pretty good work, especially considering how lousy he felt at the time.

"But the beauty of this is that for once you can't say anything like that. The last thing I need right now is you talking back to me, arguing with me, distracting me. Now maybe I can go into this battle with a clear mind.

"I don't care how suicidal it looks. I've come too far and worked too hard to turn back now and try again later. This is my one chance; there will be no next time. If I want to make him pay for the stuff he's done to me and everyone else, I've got to face him now. I couldn't live with myself otherwise."

WarriorSetomon slid down off the rubble and braced himself as he tried to stand. His first attempt didn't get his back more than a few inches off the ground. His second try found bending his knees to be too much of a strain. On his third try his arms wouldn't support the weight of his torso as he tried to push up. The results were no different the next eighteen attempts he made, and each time he only became more and more tired.

He cursed to himself as he lay there sucking in each breath. Bahadramon had taught him to push his body to its very limits, and he had done just that. If only he'd taught him how to hold back, then maybe he wouldn't be in this mess. But regrets and blame were something WarriorSetomon didn't have the time or energy for right then.

Unable to rise to his feet, WarriorSetomon took the low road and began to crawl hand over hand toward the next door. It would be an understatement to say it was slow going, but he pressed on steadily. While the war raged outside those stone walls, WarriorSetomon crawled through the archway. While thousands died, fighting to their last, WarriorSetomon dragged himself up a long, dark flight of stairs. He passed from one strange, twisting room to the next; up stairways, down tunnels, negotiating crossroads and the utter darkness with the determination of a dead digimon. The living rock below him, all one solid piece, seemed to breathe right along with him. It was almost warm to the touch in places. Empty rooms and echoes were all that met WarriorSetomon on his long trek, and all the while the battle outside those warm, black walls was like a ceaseless storm, destroying everything and everyone in its path. In that place at that time, the world was an abyss, and soon it would swallow the whole world. There was nothing left but war.

After scaling another mountain of a staircase, WarriorSetomon was met with a strange sight. He came into a long hallway, all its corners rounded, pillars of rock leading the way to a pair of large, wooden doors in the shape of an oval. What caught his eye were the roaring braziers on either side of the double-doors, perfuming the air with ash and cooking WarriorSetomon's vision.

WarriorSetomon took a breather before heading in any further. If there was anything waiting for him on the other side of that door he had to be ready to face it, even though that was impossible. He didn't want to die, but he couldn't give up; that paradox was probably the reason his little break took so long. But ultimately he pressed forward again, dragging himself toward those ominous doors.

As he drew near to the great portal, he heard the doors creak and moan; looking up, he saw them draw open before him, sending an overpowering blast of searing, noxious air out at him. The darkness in the next room seemed almost alive as it stretched out to meet him. Whatever was in there knew he was coming, and it knew he was in no shape to fight. WarriorSetomon hesitated for a moment before deciding to make as good a show of it as he could. He put both palms against the ground beneath his chest and with an agonizing groan he pushed himself up onto his knees. Although his body wanted to give in, his mind wouldn't let it. In spite of the agony from rising so far, he went to rise further. He pushed himself up has hard as he could with both feet and both hands. He felt like he could easily fall right over as he rose, but he refused, and after an eternal moment, he was fully upright again, standing on his own two feet, back straight and head held high. Now the only problem was walking.

Within that blackest of chambers the rules no longer applied. The air was a chilling furnace, perfumed with the screams of the dead and alive with rank, festering evil. Great pillars of living rock stretched from floor to ceiling, surrounded by scattered cauldrons of magma, overlooking the engraved prophecies of those insane enough to look into the very eye of evil. The walls receded into the black abyss, beyond sense and belief, a figment of a mad imagination. The gap between shadow and light, life and death, void and substance, had vanished altogether. And at the center of it all, with his back to the entryway, hovered the Destroyer. Far behind him, at the end of the foyer with his sword gripped in both hands, stood WarriorSetomon.

"Destroyer!" his shaking voice rang out against the crushing silence.

The beast took no notice of him. It didn't move a muscle, and the swirling black mass around it remained steady. WarriorSetomon took a few tender steps forward, very slowly and deliberately, careful so as not to lose his balance. Now fully immersed in the Hall of the Void Soul, WarriorSetomon shouted again.

"Destroyer! We have business to finish!"

The voice he heard then seemed to come from every angle; it was a dark, booming, raspy voice that shook the fortress to its foundations. "So we do," it said.

WarriorSetomon's left leg trembled and nearly gave out, but he bit down and stuck it out. "I came here to kill you."

"I know," the voice boomed.

"Amadeus."

"Narias."

WarriorSetomon was silent for a moment. It was somehow unsettling to hear the Destroyer use that name for him. He wanted to strike out, but he couldn't. He was paralyzed, if not by exhaustion then certainly by fear. The sense of dread that hit him whenever he heard that voice was almost too much to bear.

"Well?" the voice rasped. "You've not come so far to stop now, have you?"

WarriorSetomon gazed intensely at the obscured figure in the center of the room. Had he been listening in earlier?

"My back is turned, my guard lowered. You have but to extend your sword and cut me down to win the day, so why do you hesitate?"

WarriorSetomon remained silent, sucking air in through his clenched teeth.

"Perhaps you are too weak to fight me, yes? Too tired from facing my daughter? Or perhaps you are just too frightened, the same spineless, cowardly child you have always been."

WarriorSetomon shifted his weight, feigning to prepare an attack. The Destroyer either didn't notice or didn't care.

"How pathetic. I can't tell which is worse: that my pride and joy lost to you, or that you spared her wretched life. Perhaps I overestimated her abilities."

"No, you didn't," WarriorSetomon finally responded. "She is probably the best fighter I ever met. What you both did wrong was underestimating me."

"Your praise is wasted, as is your energy. You have nothing left. You can't even lift your own sword."

WarriorSetomon went to prove his tormentor wrong, but he did indeed find it impossible to raise his weapon even the slightest bit; just holding it level was a task in itself.

"If your burden is so heavy," the voice conjectured, "then allow me to relieve you of it."

One of the twisting shadows encircling the room suddenly shot out from its place and seized hold of WarriorSetomon's blade. He made a meager attempt to hold on, but the black tendril tore the weapon from his hand and flung it to the center of the room, where it pierced the ground with a heavy, metallic thunk. The violent confiscation of his weapon cost WarriorSetomon his precarious balance and he toppled to the floor. A cloud of dust flew up around him as he landed hard on his chest.

WarriorSetomon wheezed for air, but every gulp was foul, putrid, dead. He could almost feel the Destroyer's hidden smile searing his flesh.

"Come and get your weapon, if you think you can," the voice taunted.

WarriorSetomon glared at the figure, bearing his teeth and balling his hands into fists. He wanted desperately to charge, to fight with all his might, but he could only lie there, defeated.

"Have you come all this way to put up such a pathetic showing now? I am disappointed. Come and get your weapon!"

WarriorSetomon tried to push himself upright again, but he inevitably failed.

"If you won't come to your weapon, then I will drag you to it myself."

Again, the shadowy tendril whipped through the air, heading straight for WarriorSetomon. His anguished scream rang out through those black hallways as the tendril pierced down through his back and plunged through his stomach into the floor. As the cruel shadow paused for a moment, WarriorSetomon saw it clearly for the first time. It was made up of many, many polished black bones, all in series, linked like a spinal column into a lashing whip, the edges of each bone made razor sharp and stained with frequent use. The tendril extended up to the ceiling, where it disappeared into the swirling shadows above.

With the slightest twist, the bones in his abdomen caused WarriorSetomon to lose control; he vomited up a mouthful of blood. That seemed to be the cue for the savage instrument to squeeze even tighter lift him up off the living rock below him, and toss him toward the middle of the room as it had his sword. WarriorSetomon fell through the empty space and hit the ground hard with one painful bounce. When he opened his left eye to regain his bearings he found his blade beside him, and before him hovered the Destroyer in all his terrible glory. The Destroyer turned to him then, and at long last the two of them had come face-to-face.

"_Created to be destroyed,_

_Destroyed to kill,_

_Killing to live,_

_Living to die._

_Father to demons,_

_Son to my slayer,_

_Brother of those_

_Who dead, do lie._

_Last of my kind,_

_First among three,_

_Destroyer of life,_

_As my title does cry._

_When my job is done, my enemies_

_All dead and gone,_

_My name alone shall be ever known:_

_Asmodemon._"


	39. Revelation

WarriorSetomon looked up to take in the Destroyer, Asmodemon, in all his infernal grandeur. What he saw was a creature whose form had been ravaged as his powers had grown. Asmodemon's body had become almost skeletal; a large pulsating ribcage constituted the center of his being with the ribs being loosely wrapped in rotting, dark-brown flesh. What bone the flesh didn't cover, most noticeably on his thick spine, was charred black, but given a finely polished buff.

Thin ligaments and the remains of muscle attached his torso to his two arms, which retained a great deal more flesh and muscle in their decay than his ribs, but still showed some polished black bone. Further down his arms his flesh grew thicker and more muscular as it wrapped around his large, powerful hands, each having four fingers with curved black claws protruding from their tips. Below each arm projected a second set of appendages, tendrils made of linked black triangular bones, the pair draping off Asmodemon's ribcage before reaching up to the ceiling where they swirled about to form the living mass of shadows encircling the chamber.

Below his torso his spine was left unattached; the entire lower half of Asmodemon's body was simply absent, leaving his torso to hover some four or five feet off the ground. His spine also projected above his torso, the back of it covered with rotting flesh and muscle while only a pair of long tendons and arteries still reached up to his chin in front. Around this ghastly neck of his hung a simple necklace, a thin fibrous strand running through an uncut reddish crystal six inches long, resting on Asmodemon's sternum.

Asmodemon's face was a deformed skull; his lower jaw was nowhere to be found while his upper jaw had grown down to a point like a beak, making a diamond shape with his cheek-bones and the spot right between his eye sockets. He had no indications of a nose or even a place for one, and his brow was unusually pronounce and arched, heavy over his eye sockets. While all of this was covered by a thin layer of rotten skin and some long, stringy white hair still flowed off the back of his head, several bare horns pushed out from his skull, the same polished black as the rest of his bones. The two largest horns, each one perhaps twice as tall as his entire head, jutted out from his temples; they were thick at the roots and bulged outward, growing thinner as they extended up. As the horns drew closer to one another they curved again so that their pointed tips faced outward, away from one another. The other horns, four of them, pointed out from about where the lower jaw would have connected. They all curved down slightly but were still mostly horizontal; though all fairly short, the upper set was longer than the lower.

The only clothing worn by the Destroyer was a blood-red article that hung over his shoulders and came down to his would-be waist, joining together to hang almost to the ground in something of a Y-shape. The item was also secured by a similar length of cloth acting as a kind of belt, all joined together by a large, circular gold buckle with a pentagram engraved on its surface painted red. The cloth was all fairly wide and hovered as freely as Asmodemon himself.

But for all of this ghastly display, the most prominent feature of Asmodemon was the glaring red gas that filled up the empty cavity of his body. This bizarre vapor seemed concentrated inside his chest, but it flowed out through his eyes and came down like the demon's imaginary legs. It pulsed with his motions, bright ripples like lightning running throughout it, glowing one moment and faded the next, bursts of energy all rippling out from inside Asmodemon's otherwise empty torso. The cloud spread and dissipated along the ground once it had fallen too far from Asmodemon's body, but when it came through his eyes, those clouded points of electricity and fire inside the empty sockets of the skull, it was an image from WarriorSetomon's worst nightmares.

"Fate," the Destroyer announced in that terrible voice of his, "is something that binds each and every one of us. Even I am no exception."

WarriorSetomon coughed up a mouthful of blood and held tight to the gaping wound through his stomach.

"My daughter learned all about purpose. She made her own purpose in serving me. She will die to serve me. Just as you will die to go against me."

WarriorSetomon, writhing in agony, tried to say something, but all that came out was something of a whimper mixed with a snort.

"The path that fate leads us down is every bit as strange as it is inevitable though. My fate I find as strange as any other in this world of ours. My purpose seems so obscured as to be unknowable."

WarriorSetomon coughed again, a long, hacking cough that shook his entire body violently.

"Killing you should have been a simple task, and yet you have survived long enough to get to this spot. Yet now, that you are so weak and I am so strong, now that I can kill you with the slightest gesture, I choose instead to do this…"

Asmodemon's right tendril jerked slightly and the black shadow shot down from the ceiling and grabbed one of the bodies decorating Asmodemon's chamber. In a flash Asmodemon tossed the body next to where WarriorSetomon lay slowly dying. WarriorSetomon looked at it, then back at Asmodemon. No matter how suspicious the circumstances, WarriorSetomon's survival instinct was too strong to pass up this chance. Mustering every last bit of strength he had in his body, he extended his hand, grabbed his sword, and sliced the body in half. The dead digimon's data poured out and WarriorSetomon sucked up every last piece as Asmodemon just hovered and watched.

WarriorSetomon felt the wound in his stomach reseal itself and he grew strong enough to bound up and away from Asmodemon, but as he landed he lost his balance and fell to his knees there on the floor again. That digimon's strength may have saved his life, but his energy wasn't even close to full.

As WarriorSetomon rushed to catch his breath, he had only one question. "Why?" he panted.

Asmodemon regarded WarriorSetomon with a disgusted look. "Because I hate you."

WarriorSetomon wore an understandably confused look, and for some reason Asmodemon seemed to be in an explaining mood.

"I have spent more time and energy trying to kill you than I care to admit. My hatred for this world and all things in it is infinite, but you have garnered more and more of that hate for yourself lately. Few have been able to hold my hatred as long and as intensely as you have. To kill you now so easily would make that hate such a waste. But ultimately, the fact that I hate you means that I care about what happens to you, and I do so with great intensity. I hate you because you've gotten the better of me, you made me care."

WarriorSetomon spotted another body behind him and jumped up to his feet again. This body too he sliced apart and drained its data. He stood upright, feeling his strength returning to him.

"Fill yourself to your heart's content. I will not stand in your way."

WarriorSetomon charged another dead body and ran it through. He absorbed every last bit, feeling himself now fully renewed by the dead digimon's data.

"You've grown strong, WarriorSetomon. With time and training you might be able to stand against me."

WarriorSetomon flexed his muscles and took a few practice swings with his sword. "The only time I care about is right now. The only training I need, I've already had."

"As I said, fate is a strange thing. How bizarre my story is that I should adopt a daughter, only to have her lose to my abandoned bastard son."

WarriorSetomon froze. "What did you say?"

Asmodemon lowered his brow almost as if smirking. "Nothing."

"Tell me what you meant by that _now_!" WarriorSetomon roared.

Asmodemon's stance seemed exceedingly relaxed. "Poor SamuSetomon. She always tries to be such a perfect daughter. She will always serve her dear father. But I wonder how she would react to learning that while I did sustain her, it was not I that sired her."

"That's not what I meant!" WarriorSetomon barked louder than before.

"Your breed has always served me faithfully; perfect for keeping my demons in-line. When I learned of her, I knew that little village of hers was no place for her to be raised. So I laid waste to it and its residents, claiming her as my new daughter."

"Answer me!"

"And then of course, there is my son," Asmodemon continued. "My very flesh and blood. I tailored him as skillfully as I tailored this chamber. A data-weaver as skilled as I sees no distinction. I gave him a form befitting a son and servant, but that was not enough. My son had his purpose set from the beginning: to teach me the way to the human world."

"The human world?"

"The worlds have been separated for a decade now. The only way to exist in that other world is to belong there. My son would be an experiment, part human and part digimon, able to live in both worlds. If it worked, then I would alter my own data to reach the humans myself."

"It's not possible," WarriorSetomon said with a shudder.

"Oh but it is. All I needed was data collected from humans. Fortunately, that bumbling brother of mine, the Genocide Virus, collected a sample of such data. Though it was crudely spliced together from two different humans I still managed to make it work. I joined my unborn son to that data and created a digiegg to house him. When he was born I knew I had succeeded in breaking the boundaries, and soon I had refined the process, giving myself just enough human data to cross over without any unfortunate side-effects."

"Unfortunate side-effects…" WarriorSetomon muttered.

"Yes, terribly unfortunate. My son had emerged a confused abomination. The human data had a profound effect on his mind, I'm afraid. He was not the son I had crafted. That much was clear from the data that manifested with him, a relic of the humans that had gone into his making. That relic he was born with told me that my success was matched only by my failure."

"The relic. You mean…." His eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"Yes. That cursed tool, the mark of the DigiDestined. It was born along with my son. It branded him, made him more than a simple human hybrid. He became one of them, one of those DigiDestined, the very threat I made myself human to eradicate. I had no choice but to destroy him, to destroy you. You, WarriorSetomon, my son."

WarriorSetomon let out a long, low growl between clenched teeth. "You bastard. You've hounded me my whole life. You've taken everything from me. You tried to kill me!"

"I gave you everything you ever had, including your life. I was free to take it all back."

"You are a liar!"

"Not about this."

WarriorSetomon's grip tightened on his blade. "Even if you were telling the truth it doesn't change a damn thing. You are not my father!"

"No, I suppose I am not. I may have sired you, but I did not sustain you. As I said, fate is strange."

"Strange? You ruined my life and all you have to say is how strange it is!"

"It was my life to ruin, my son."

"Wrong! I was never yours! You've done everything to stop me, but I've still made it here! Everything I've ever had I can attribute to me own hard work!"

"Except, of course, your very life itself."

WarriorSetomon curled his lips up in a fearsome snarl. "If you want it so bad you can have it, but not until I take yours."

"Oh my dear, confused son…" Asmodemon sighed in a patronizing tone. "You haven't listened to a word I've said. If I wanted to take your life I could have done so easily, so why did I send only lackeys to kill you? Why did I have my daughter protect you? Why did I let you restore your strength just now? Ultimately I still care for you. I hate you as my enemy, but I love you as a son."

"Shut up you lying bastard!"

"You who are made of my flesh and my blood. You who I have troubled myself so much over. You who could resist every attempt I made to change you. You alone whom I could not kill. You, my bane, my blood, my son, are the one who gives me some kind of completion, some purpose. You are my heir, and I could die well knowing you were still alive. I can not kill you, but until I saw you, touched you, I never understood why not."

WarriorSetomon's grip on his weapon seemed weak. His arm shook and his eyes darted over Asmodemon, trying to understand what was happening, looking desperately for some sign of a lie.

"I did take everything you ever had to make your life a good one, my son. But I gave all those things to you once, and I can do so again. I can even return your friend to you, your friend Guilmon."

WarriorSetomon flinched at this. "G—Guilmon?"

"Yes, your very best friend. This place, this Hall of the Void Soul…it is a domain of my own creation. It is a realm apart from the Digital World, a place where I am the one true sovereign power. All things here are mine, including the digimon like those around you. They died here, and here I willed them to remain. Guilmon is here too. Returning him to life is a simple task for a data-weaver of my skill."

WarriorSetomon's hand shook a little more. "I don't believe you!"

"Of course not. I understand completely. I've never given you a reason to trust me. I've been a terrible father to you. Still, I will return this one thing to you; perhaps then your life will find some kind of purpose, as I believe I have now."

WarriorSetomon stared hard at Asmodemon. He wiped the sweat from his brow with one hand while the other held his trembling sword. They were both silent for a few moments. WarriorSetomon didn't know what to think. He knew he could never trust Asmodemon for even a second, but he didn't see or hear anything in him to suggest it was a lie. But maybe that was just the hope of getting Guilmon back clouding his senses. He swallowed hard, unsure what to do.

"I don't wish to be your enemy any longer, my son. And I am certain SamuSetomon would much rather have you as a friend than a foe."

"Shut up!" WarriorSetomon yelled. Asmodemon folded his claws in front of him and stopped talking. He just floated there, a menacing mass of light and shadow, a burning effigy of WarriorSetomon's lost life. WarriorSetomon shifted his footing nervously. Sweat continued to get in his eyes; the lava pits in the floor gave off a lot of heat, making his palms slick against his weapon. After a few moments of uneasy silence he finally reached a decision. He did not lower his blade, he did not back away, and in fact he did not move at all. All he said was, "prove it."

"Prove it?"

"Bring back Guilmon. Right here, right now. No questions, no talking, no nothing. Just do it or I'll take your head clean off."

What could have almost passed for a smile washed over Asmodemon's desiccated face. Without a word he lifted his ragged hands up to the swirling black mass overhead and the red light shone from his eyes all the brighter. A low hum began to swell up from where he stood, growing stronger and louder with each passing second. As WarriorSetomon watched motionless, he saw bits of data waft down from the chaotic mass and coming to rest between Asmodemon's claws. The humming continued to grow stronger, thrumming in WarriorSetomon's ears like a heartbeat, a muted roar. More and more bits of data collected in Asmodemon's grasp. They spun around one another, dancing on Asmodemon's fingertips, bobbing, dodging, weaving, growing; they shone with a bright light that pierced the infinite darkness of Asmodemon's innermost sanctum. And for a moment, WarriorSetomon could swear he saw the familiar yellow eye of his friend looking out at him.

Then came a sharp whistle and a brilliant flash. A bolt of shining white light pierced the air from behind WarriorSetomon and struck straight and true through Asmodemon's left clavicle, scattering pieces of bone and flesh and breaking Asmodemon's spell. His arms flew apart and the burgeoning life between his claws was torn to shreds, its data scattered into the darkness. WarriorSetomon spun on his heel to see who the assailant was, and standing at the entrance he saw a pair of shining angel digimon: Angewomon, her bow still drawn and readying another arrow, and MagnaAngemon, standing at her side and ready to pounce.

"Stop it!" WarriorSetomon shouted at the pair.

"Get out of the way!" MagnaAngemon ordered.

Asmodemon sunk low, holding his shattered bone with his claw. His infuriated eyes turned on the angels and he growled low and menacingly.

"I've got this under control!" WarriorSetomon yelled angrily.

"Murderers…" Asmodemon hissed. "Now Guilmon's blood is on your hands."

"Asmodemon! Start again!" WarriorSetomon demanded.

Angewomon fired again. This time the arrow hit the same spot, but it pierced the hand that rested there and pinned it down. The flesh and bone seared where the shimmering arrow was stuck and Asmodemon growled in agony.

"Stop this!" WarriorSetomon yelled even louder. But his plea fell on deaf ears. MagnaAngemon catapulted himself through the air and came down hard into Asmodemon's chest with a flying kick. Asmodemon was thrown back against one of the stone pillars with a thunderous crash. More fragments of bone fell away and a long crack appeared down the center of his skull. MagnaAngemon charged in for a punch, but Asmodemon's black tendrils swooped down from the ceiling and grabbed him around the wrists, pulling him back and holding him tight.

"You see?" Asmodemon asked in pained frustration. "In love or in hate, I care for you my son. But these things…they don't care at all. They march their allies into this war without conscience. They don't care who has to die so long as they kill me. Your life and the life of those you care for are all meaningless to them."

Two more arrows cut through the shadows and sliced MagnaAngemon free of Asmodemon's tendrils. Asmodemon let loose an inhuman shriek as his appendages withdrew to the ceiling. MagnaAngemon charged again, slamming his shoulder into Asmodemon's chest with all his bodyweight behind the blow. A crack spread through the column at Asmodemon's back but MagnaAngemon wasn't done yet. He slammed his fist into Asmodemon' face and chipped off one of the demon lord's smaller horns. MagnaAngemon was about to strike again, but Asmodemon grabbed him by the head with his claw very suddenly. He threw MagnaAngemon across the room like a rag doll, effortlessly sending him crashing into another pillar. With a groan Asmodemon reached up and pulled out Angewomon's arrow, which was still piercing his hand and clavicle. Both hands were free again but his body was quickly showing more wear and tear.

"Their rage blinds them to your suffering, my son!" Asmodemon shouted. "If you're looking for the opposite of love, it is not my hate. It is their apathy."

"Your evil ends here, Destroyer!" Angewomon shouted as she drew back a fistful of arrows. "Celestial Arrow!" She fired a full barrage at Asmodemon. He tried to shield himself with his claws, but a few of them still nicked his body with visibly painful results. Stunned for the moment, Asmodemon couldn't retaliate as MagnaAngemon flew up from behind and tackled him to the ground. Angewomon flew in immediately and pinned Asmodemon's arms to the ground. They three of them struggled, but then Asmodemon brought his whipping tendrils down again to slap the pair off his back.

MagnaAngemon and Angewomon caught themselves and turned back to face Asmodemon again who had pushed himself back upright. MagnaAngemon charged first under cover of a few more of Angewomon's Celestial Arrows. Asmodemon deflected the arrows with his powerful claws and then thrust his tendrils directly out from his torso at MagnaAngemon, but MagnaAngemon dodged to the side and grabbed both appendages in his left hand. Asmodemon tried to pull away, but MagnaAngemon's grip was too strong. From his right hand he produced his blade and in a heartbeat he severed Asmodemon's tendrils right there, eliciting another terrible shriek from the Destroyer. Before Asmodemon could recompose himself another arrow shot past MagnaAngemon's ear. This one struck him right in the face and cracked through his skull, leaving Asmodemon with a gaping hole where his left eye and horn used to be. MagnaAngemon rammed into the injured Asmodemon again, smashing him back into another stone pillar with all his might.

MagnaAngemon stood there, looming over the injured Asmodemon, his weapon extended and his right hand raised. "At long last, it's all over with," he mused.

Asmodemon looked up at him from where he lay and coughed. "I do not fear death. But if you kill me now, my son will never regain all he's lost."

"Those are your last words, Destroyer." MagnaAngemon brought his blade sweeping down on Asmodemon's neck.

MagnaAngemon's attack never reached its target. A loud clang rang out through the silent hall as MagnaAngemon's weapon struck against the metal blade of WarriorSetomon's sword. MagnaAngemon looked up into WarriorSetomon's hard eyes, wet with tears. In a dead tone, WarriorSetomon said one word: "Don't." Then with his free hand he gave MagnaAngemon a solid palm strike to the chest that sent him sailing onto his back.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Angewomon.

"I'm too strong for you," warned WarriorSetomon. "If you try to fight me I might end up killing you both."

"Great, just great," MagnaAngemon murmured.

"Leave us," WarriorSetomon said in a steely, resolved tone.

"You know we can't do that," said Angewomon. "The Destroyer must be stopped before it's too late."

"Don't risk your life for my sake, my son," Asmodemon coughed.

"I'm not," WarriorSetomon reassured him. "I'm doing this for me, for Guilmon, even for SamuSetomon."

"Stand aside, WarriorSetomon," MagnaAngemon said as he dusted himself off. "We don't want to hurt you, but we've got to slay the Destroyer here and now."

"But doing that _will_ hurt me," said WarriorSetomon, "me and those I care for."

"But he's evil!" Angewomon insisted. "He's just using you, don't you see that?"

"Of course he's evil. But if you try to stop him before he sets things right, I can only believe you two are every bit as evil as he is."

"Can't you hear yourself?" shouted MagnaAngemon. "Snap out of it! Don't let him control you like this!"

"_I _am the one in control here!" WarriorSetomon roared. "Leave now or so help me I'll cut you both down where you stand!"

"We can't do that," MagnaAngemon said in a menacing tone.

"Then I must defend myself," WarriorSetomon said in a low growl.

WarriorSetomon leapt forward at the pair. They dodged out of the way as he landed between them. WarriorSetomon immediately side-kicked Angewomon in the stomach as he slashed his sword up at MagnaAngemon, but MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield arm and thrust his own blade at WarriorSetomon, forcing him to back up a few steps. MagnaAngemon did not pursue.

"Don't do this," MagnaAngemon warned. "Come on. I know you. I was there when you were born. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," WarriorSetomon answered coldly as he shifted his weapon around in his hand. "I don't care."

WarriorSetomon charged forward, leading with his empty hand. MagnaAngemon took a slash at it but WarriorSetomon spun on his heel, sweeping his empty hand out of the way and coming around with his sword. MagnaAngemon ducked underneath the swipe and countered with a tripping blow to WarriorSetomon's shin. WarriorSetomon pitched forward, rolled once, and then jumped right back up, wrapping his arms around MagnaAngemon's chest and tackling him to the ground. He held MagnaAngemon underneath his weight and looked down at him.

"You said you'd be back. You'd bring presents."

"Only if you were good," MagnaAngemon said with a grimace. "I don't think you're keeping your end of the bargain."

"No, I guess I'm not." WarriorSetomon lifted the edge of his sword to MagnaAngemon's chin. They both just stared at one another for a few moments.

"Do it now, son," Asmodemon hissed from his vantage point.

WarriorSetomon looked down at MagnaAngemon a moment longer before he bore his teeth and tensed his muscles. Before he could make another move though he received a kick to the face that knocked him right over backward and freed MagnaAngemon from his grip. It was Angewomon, and she let WarriorSetomon fall back to help up MagnaAngemon.

"I helped raise a lot of digimon, both good and evil," MagnaAngemon said as he and Angewomon circled WarriorSetomon, "but I never thought for a second you could ever turn out to be one of the bad eggs."

"I'm not," said WarriorSetomon. "I'm just a guy trying to get back what was taken from him."

"But at what cost?"

"When you've got nothing else to give, the price doesn't matter any more."

"WarriorSetomon, this is your chance," said Angewomon. "If you want to really grow up, then you've got to stop being so selfish and think of others. Think about what's right instead of what's right for you."

"She's telling the truth," MagnaAngemon chimed in. "This is the fine line that separates the grown-ups from the children. What are you going to do?"

WarriorSetomon hesitated a few moments before replying. "You know, I've always tried so hard to make people think I'm all grown up. Part of me even wants to do what you say. But I cannot fight what I am any more than I can fight my purpose."

Asmodemon's remaining eye arched as though he was smiling insidiously. He snickered fiendishly at WarriorSetomon's words. "That's it, my son."

"All I wanted was a little piece of happiness," WarriorSetomon growled. "All I found was misery wherever I went. I even lost my childhood itself for the sake of survival. But now I've got a chance to get it all back, and not even you can stand in my way now. Not you, not my father, not anyone."

"You'll never get what you want from the Destroyer," said MagnaAngemon. "Devastation is his only aim, selfishness his only instinct. He will keep you around only as long as you can get him more power. What happiness is there in that?"

"So what if he only wants me for that reason?" asked WarriorSetomon. "At least then he's not throwing my life away like you would. You send wave after wave of your own kind against my father knowing full well that none of them may survive. I will take my chances here."

"The Destroyer has twisted you into his little puppet," said MagnaAngemon. "You've lost your way, perhaps even your mind. You leave us no choice. Since you will not stand aside, you will share your master's fate."

WarriorSetomon crouched into a battle stance. Angewomon stepped forward to face him.

"Take care of yourself," MagnaAngemon whispered to her.

"Crush them and everything you ever desired shall be yours," Asmodemon sneered.

WarriorSetomon charged and brought his sword chopping down on Angewomon, but she caught the blade between her hands and held it, straining against WarriorSetomon's overpowering strength, watching the razor-edge slip closer and closer to her. MagnaAngemon, meanwhile, stuck his weapon straight up over his head. Slow and steady he brought his arm down clockwise, tracing out a perfect circle right before him. Inside the circle MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny faded into being. The inscribed circular plate spun around half way and split open to reveal the shining glow of oblivion. With his ultimate attack ready, MagnaAngemon stepped around it and took flight, soaring over the already brawling pair and landing on the other side of Asmodemon.

Asmodemon turned to face MagnaAngemon, snarling in that deep, dry voice of his. "Insect. You will never stop me."

"I've done it before," said MagnaAngemon. "I'll do it again, Devimon."

"Ah…" Asmodemon said slyly. "Remember me, do you?"

"Your face is impossible to forget, no matter how much it changes."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same, I hear," Asmodemon said with a little laugh.

"Then you should already know how this will turn out," MagnaAngemon said with a smirk.

Asmodemon wagged his finger. "Not this time, I'm afraid. I've grown much too powerful for you. Now instead of Leomon I have WarriorSetomon. Rather than Ogremon, I've got Beelzemon. Whatever paltry gains you might have made pale in comparison to the full power of the Destroyer."

"I gave up everything to stop you once," said MagnaAngemon. "If need be, I'll do so again to stop you once and for all."

MagnaAngemon leaned forward and tensed his muscles. At that moment a column of pink light shot up and down from Angewomon's hands. "Heaven's Charge!" she yelled as she released WarriorSetomon's sword to swing her hands out horizontally producing a similar, horizontal beam. WarriorSetomon was shocked to find his blade unable to cut through the radiant cross before him. Angewomon's attack shot forward at WarriorSetomon, who quickly repositioned his sword and pushed back with the broad side of his blade. But even with WarriorSetomon's strength Angewomon's Heaven's Charge drove him back; he dug the claws on his toes into the ground, but only succeeded in leaving six long, deep scars in the floor.

Asmodemon had to keep both eyes on MagnaAngemon, but he was also quite aware of the trouble WarriorSetomon was having. Finally WarriorSetomon had been shoved so close to him that Asmodemon had no choice but to turn. He raised one hand to the attack and it instantly split down the middle, carving its way through the rest of the chamber down either side of WarriorSetomon and Asmodemon. That was when MagnaAngemon struck. He moved in fast and brought his blade sweeping down. Asmodemon raised an arm to block but MagnaAngemon sliced it clean through it just above the wrist. He was about to go in for a second hit, but then WarriorSetomon spun around from behind his father and shoved the tip of his sword up at MagnaAngemon's ribs. MagnaAngemon had a pair of wings crossed just at that point though and was only knocked back by the blow, but the move had saved Asmodemon. Driven back for the moment, MagnaAngemon decided to take things up a notch. His body glowed white for a few seconds and suddenly a strong wind appeared, sucking everything in its path into the mouth of the Gate of Destiny, yet all four combatants held strong.

"Kill him," Asmodemon ordered. "Slowly."

WarriorSetomon charged at MagnaAngemon. Angewomon raised another arrow at Asmodemon's back, but out of nowhere she was struck on the side of the head and knocked down, sending her shot soaring wildly off course. From the darkness behind where she stood, the hulking, leather-clad figure of Beelzemon appeared with that sinister grin of his.

"You cool in here boss?" Beelzemon asked.

"Perfect timing," said Asmodemon. "Kill her, Beelzemon."

Beelzemon saluted and turned on Angewomon. Satisfied that all was well in hand, Asmodemon turned his gaze to the Gate of Destiny. Without so much as a gesture, bits of data began to pour from the air towards Asmodemon's body. His shattered skull grew back completely undamaged. The broken bones on his neck and chest reset themselves as though never hit. The hand that lay on the floor and the tendrils that hung limply from the ceiling sprung to life, returning eagerly to their rightful places on Asmodemon's body. In only a few seconds Asmodemon was completely whole again, unfazed by the seemingly savage beating he'd taken.

Asmodemon casually floated his way over to the gate; its strong winds barely had any effect on him whatsoever. He ran one long, black claw over the gilded rim, listening to the cool scraping of metal. Then he lowered the tips of his tendrils from the ceiling and plunged them deep into the gaping maw of the Gate of Destiny, an ominously satisfied expression on his face.


	40. Showdown with Destruction

Beelzemon loomed over Angewomon, his red eyes glaring at her unfeelingly. With brutal speed he reached down, wrapped his right hand around her throat, and yanked her upright, letting her feet dangle six inches off the ground. Angewomon struggled in his grip, kicking at his chest and trying to pull his hands from around her neck, but he just smiled up at her. And then he began to squeeze.

WarriorSetomon slashed his sword at MagnaAngemon's head, but MagnaAngemon deflected the strike with his own weapon. WarriorSetomon slashed again, lower and from the other side this time, but MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield arm and thrust his blade at WarriorSetomon's face. WarriorSetomon ducked beneath the attack and extended his left hand, claws pointing forward, to MagnaAngemon's chest. MagnaAngemon felt the tips of WarriorSetomon's powerful claws enter his chest and immediately shoved his opponent back, but WarriorSetomon just kept on coming with one blow after another. MagnaAngemon could only block and evade against such an onslaught, but beyond the immediate threat he saw a greater problem from the Destroyer.

Asmodemon hovered before the Gate of Destiny, its white light washing over his body while his tendrils plumbed its depths in search of something. What that something could be only Asmodemon knew, but the sight alone was enough to make MagnaAngemon nervous. Thinking fast, he countercharged WarriorSetomon, pinning WarriorSetomon's sword arm to his chest with his shield arm and grabbing his left hand by the wrist. While he was able to hold the stalemate, MagnaAngemon shunted as much power as he could afford to the gate, hoping it would catch the Destroyer off guard enough to suck him in head-first. Although Asmodemon's hair was sucked to the front of his face, bits of debris were dragged into the gate and even WarriorSetomon had to dig his claws into the stone to stay put, the Destroyer remained like an anchor in a gentle breeze.

"Hurry it up over there, boss!" Beelzemon shouted. "No tellin' how long our boys'll hold off Omnimon without me out there."

"Time enough, time enough," Asmodemon mused as his tendrils probed deeper. "With me there's always time enough."

WarriorSetomon head-butted MagnaAngemon fiercely, but apparently hadn't realized just how hard that helmet was. Both digimon were stunned as they stumbled apart for a few seconds.

Beelzemon meanwhile returned his gaze to Angewomon with a mischievous grin on his face. Her legs now hung like wet noodles and her hands were barely able to tug at his as he choked the life from her. Just then, Beelzemon jerked his head to the side as though he'd heard something. His attention was broken, his grip softened and air rushed into Angewomon's lungs. Summoning all the strength she could, Angewomon kicked Beelzemon in the sternum. He barely seemed to notice, but it was enough to extract Angewomon from his cruel grasp. He looked back at her again and shook his head as though to clear it.

MagnaAngemon meanwhile was recovering from the blow he'd taken and saw that Asmodemon was still unaffected by his attempt to strengthen the gate. Seeing no other choice, MagnaAngemon clapped his hands together in front of him. The gate immediately started to slide shut again, but before it could do so Asmodemon extended his claws, grabbed both halves of the closing door and pulled them apart, bending them back and rending the gate open indefinitely, which left his tendrils free to continue their snooping. MagnaAngemon was shocked by the ease Asmodemon demonstrated in the maneuver, leaving WarriorSetomon enough time to wrap his arms around the angel digimon's waist and tackle him to the ground so hard it actually cracked the floor beneath the pair.

Angewomon meanwhile was still coughing and gasping for air as she held an arrow aimed straight at Beelzemon's head. Beelzemon seemed more interested in what was going on elsewhere, but he returned his focus to Angewomon after a few moments. He started to charge but she fired an arrow hitting him right in his center eye. Beelzemon shouted in pain, holding his eye tight with both hands as he skulked back a few steps.

"Angewomon!" MagnaAngemon yelled from where WarriorSetomon had him pinned. "You've got to stop the Destroyer! Shut the gate!"

With only the slightest of nods to her companion, Angewomon readied another arrow and took careful aim, but just as she was about to fire Beelzemon stepped in her way again. His fingers were twisted like claws and his bloodshot center eye squinted at her.

"Stand aside, Beelzemon," Angewomon warned him. "You've still got two eyes I can blind."

"So do you!" Beelzemon yelled as he charged.

Angewomon fired again, but this time Beelzemon whipped his reptilian tail around to knock the shot out of the air. There was nothing between him and Angewomon, and he pounced on her like a jungle cat, knocking her to the ground and aiming his right hand with its spiked fingers at her throat.

Beelzemon did not kill Angewomon. He trembled, grunted and flinched, but his hand didn't move to pierce her neck. He seemed paralyzed, with an expression like he'd seen a ghost. This went on for a few seconds before Asmodemon noticed over the racket of WarriorSetomon and MagnaAngemon tousling with one another. His attention turned away from the Gate of Destiny to his frozen servant.

"Beelzemon!" he shouted. Beelzemon turned his head only slightly, keeping his two healthy eyes on Angewomon. "Beelzemon…" Asmodemon went on. "Hear only the sound of my voice. Kill her now."

Beelzemon seemed reinvigorated. He cracked his neck and fingers as he once again prepared to run Angewomon through.

At that moment MagnaAngemon was knocked back by a furious punch from WarriorSetomon's powerful right fist. As he fell back he grabbed at his surroundings and his hand caught on something big, heavy and loose. It was the body of a dead digimon, and MagnaAngemon was going to use it. He held on tight and with all his strength hoisted the cadaver up over his shoulder and threw it toward WarriorSetomon. WarriorSetomon defended himself with his sword, slicing his way through the body and letting it fly past him on both sides, but what he didn't see coming was MagnaAngemon, right behind the carcass.

One of the halves left of the body careened through the darkness and slammed into Beelzemon from the side, knocking him clean off Angewomon and saving her life. Without wasting a second, Angewomon rolled up into a kneeling position, drew back an arrow, and fired.

Asmodemon's eyes glowed brighter. "I've found it," he chuckled to himself. Angewomon's arrow came straight for his head from his left side. Without so much as looking, Asmodemon lifted his left hand palm out and caught the arrow between his fingers. With a mere flick of his wrist he sent it sailing right back at Angewomon so fast she couldn't avoid it. She was struck in the shoulder and fell to her back.

Asmodemon's tendrils began to slide quickly from the gate and retracting to the ceiling while WarriorSetomon and MagnaAngemon continued their duel. Asmodemon lifted his right claw, palm open, to the gate, and a moment later his tendrils shot out. One of them held something; it quickly deposited the object in Asmodemon's palm before withdrawing up into the black mass above. All the fighting digimon stopped and stared at the thing clasped in Asmodemon's hand. It was a small thing, a tangled mess of filth and grime, strands of something wrapped around its seemingly solid frame. It fit well in Asmodemon's colossal claw, but from all the wear and tear on the object it wasn't quite clear what it was.

Asmodemon turned away from the gate and faced WarriorSetomon and MagnaAngemon. He brought his tendrils down again; this time they sliced through the Gate of Destiny like it wasn't even there, shattering the gilded ring and dispelling the glimmering light. Once again, the room was bathed in Asmodemon's hellish red glow, and the object in his hand seemed to pulsate as though alive.

Asmodemon lifted his gaze to MagnaAngemon. "And now, my weak little adversary, you have failed entirely." With the long claw on his thumb, Asmodemon wiped the grime away from the thing in his palm. What they all saw there was a hand-crafted but battered form, half white and half black, with two hauntingly empty eye-holes in the front. It was a mask, and inside they could still see a wretched, wasted skull, nearly torn to pieces by the tides of destiny. Ragged strands of hair still clung to the broken form and a long crack ran through the mask, but even so deformed the thing was undeniably familiar.

"You can't!" MagnaAngemon shouted.

"I can!" Asmodemon replied gleefully. "And I can because of you, MagnaAngemon."

"What is it?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"This, my son, is the last piece of a very big puzzle. This is what remains of a once mighty digimon known and feared throughout this realm as Piedmon."

"Things aren't bad enough already?!" shouted Angewomon.

"You will find things getting much, much worse, my dear," said Asmodemon. "You should thank me for seeing fit have you both killed now."

"Well done, Asmodemon," said a new voice, this one from the shadows.

"Right on time," said Asmodemon. He turned to where the voice came from and a man in black robes appeared there. His face was hidden beneath a hood. He extended his hands and Asmodemon promptly handed over Piedmon's remains.

"Excellent," the man said as he wrapped his robes over the mask and skull. "Combined with the other three and the dark spore, we have finally brought all the pieces together."

"I've done my part, little man," said Asmodemon. "Make sure you do yours."

"We will see to this task, Asmodemon," said the robed man. "Just do what you do best and stay alive until we have further need of you."

"I thought you would have more faith in me than that," the Destroyer hissed.

"On the contrary, I have so much faith in you that I'm not even going to drag you along for safe-keeping. Now please, stop toying with these creatures and kill that insufferable Omnimon."

"Scurry back to your hole, whelp. Do not forget that you trespass in my domain. When the time arrives, I will be prepared."

"See that you are," the robed man said as he walked back into the shadows and vanished.

"Who was that?" WarriorSetomon demanded.

"He is no concern of yours, my son. But he was right; we should stop fooling around. Kill them now, and all you ever dreamed of can be yours."

"Just make sure you come through on that promise," said WarriorSetomon.

MagnaAngemon, meanwhile, had joined up with Angewomon. As they looked one another over, they knew their hopes of victory shrunk with every blow they took. WarriorSetomon and Beelzemon turned their eyes on the pair and looked completely prepared to end the fight.

"We can't afford to lose," Angewomon whispered, "for everyone's sake, if not our own."

"No retreat, no defeat," MagnaAngemon whispered back. "You know what we have to do."

"It's dangerous," said Angewomon. "It will take everything we've got."

"I don't see another option."

"If we do this, will you be ready when the time comes? If WarriorSetomon won't stand aside, will you…?"

"He will come to his senses," said MagnaAngemon. "I know he will."

The pair stood up straight, facing their opponents head-on. Beelzemon and WarriorSetomon charged, but before they got very far there was a tremendous explosion of pure, white light from the angelic pair. Asmodemon's darkness shrunk away into the smallest corners of the room, and he let out a great shriek as the light swallowed him whole. All was still, silent, and blindingly bright.

"What are you doing?" demanded a gruff voice. "Get up you dog."

"Who's there?" Beelzemon shouted into the void.

"Guess!" cackled a shrill second voice.

"What are you doing back here?"

"We never left," said a third voice, this one with a clear, strong tone. "We've just been drowned out by the darkness."

"What would the Sovereign think of you now?" asked the first voice. "Pathetic."

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear one more word outta' you!"

"Or what? You'll beat us up? You'll kill us? Fantastic!" the second voice chimed in.

"Boss! I need a little backup here! It's not working anymore!"

"He can't hear you," the third voice noted. "You're just shouting at oblivion, just like we have been since you made this deal."

"How do you like how it feels?" asked the first voice. "Blind, deaf, mute. No escape, no choice, no hope. Now you know what you've put us through."

"It's the same place you'll be for as long as you stay with that demon," the second voice added in a chuckle.

"Was it really so bad when it was just us?" asked the third voice. "Would you really rather have that monster in your head than us? How long before it gets too crowded in here and even you are pushed to the back?"

"I said shut up!" Beelzemon roared.

"He'll own you forever. Stop being such a coward!"

"He won't see it coming! Turn on him now!"

"Think about what you're doing. It's not too late to end this."

Beelzemon flailed about in the sea of light, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

WarriorSetomon shielded his eyes and fell to his knees. One after another, waves of light crashed over him like an endless tide, each one peeling away another layer of Asmodemon's darkness, until finally it seemed that every last shadow had completely vanished. The floor, the smells, even the air itself seemed to vanish, as though all of it been made up of that very darkness. As the light grew brighter, WarriorSetomon tried to cry out as pain shot through every muscle fiber. He shut his eyes tight, but still they burned. He tried not to breathe after the first rush of clean air hit his lungs and almost made him keel over. Even though he couldn't see, smell, or even hear with the thundering blood running through his skull, he could still sense the others around him, almost feeling them with all the distractions of the environment removed. At his back stood Asmodemon, his dark aura almost skin-tight in the surge of light. To WarriorSetomon's right he felt perhaps dozens of beings, though they all took up the space of only a single body, and before him there was the source of the light: MagnaAngemon and Angewomon. Their minds, their hearts, they were so sure of themselves. They were exposed, vulnerable. If WarriorSetomon was to make his move, this was his only chance.

Though his breathing was labored and he couldn't even open his eyes, WarriorSetomon summoned up what he'd learned from Bahadramon on fighting while blind. He stood, gripped his sword and leapt at the shining auras before him. As his blade drew near the first one it seemed to hit a wall of resistance. Even though it was like cutting through syrup, he tried to press his blade right into the very heart of the creature before him, but another wave of light put a stop to the attack and knocked him on his back. The pain now coursed through every bone, every blood vessel, all save one very small part of him, at his core. He'd never really noticed it before, or maybe it had never been there before, but as his whole body burned there was still part of him that was different, that was cool and calm, even peaceful through the light storm that engulfed him. As the shadows were stripped away, so was everything that had kept him from feeling that part of himself.

In the next few seconds, WarriorSetomon felt other presences around him. There was a fiery presence some way below them, one bathed in a cool skin like Asmodemon's, but beneath that shell was a surging vortex. It brought a smile to his face to realize it had to be SamuSetomon. Then there was another presence, but he didn't know where it was. It was almost everywhere; it was warm and familiar. The shadows that permeated it seemed to dissolve away more and more in the light. WarriorSetomon reached his hand out to the smiling presence, and then in a flash it was all gone.

Plumes of smoke rose from Asmodemon's hunched body as what little remained of his skin sizzled in light's aftermath. His realm had returned in full form, right down to the suffocating air, but now it had been breached by a pair of truly powerful angel digimon. Asmodemon looked up to see what now opposed him. There stood Seraphimon in all his glory, his golden light piercing the darkness of Asmodemon's realm. Magnadramon was there too, encircling Seraphimon with her long, serpentine body. WarriorSetomon lay on his back in front of the pair as Beelzemon pressed his hand to his ears. Asmodemon wore a scowl as he surveyed the situation.

"Ready?" Seraphimon whispered.

"On your mark," Magnadramon whispered back.

"Wretched angels," Asmodemon hissed. "I hope you enjoyed what you've done to my servants, because now you will have to face me directly."

"Now!" Seraphimon barked. "Seven Heavens!"

"Fire Tornado!"

Seraphimon's seven glowing bolts spread out wide as the column of flame Magnadramon shot from her mouth straight on through to Asmodemon. An instant after Asmodemon was engulfed in the swirling flames, Seraphimon's attack converged on him from all sides, causing an explosion that obliterated the stone dais over which Asmodemon hovered.

"Don't let up!" Magnadramon roared. "Fire Tornado!"

"Seven Heavens!"

Again the pair pounded Asmodemon with their attacks, causing an even greater explosion that sent debris flying through the air and filling the room with a thick cloud of ash.

"Again!" both angels shouted. Before they could follow through though, the deadly tips of Asmodemon's tendrils shot down from the ceiling directly toward them. Magnadramon quickly coiled her body around Seraphimon. "Rejecting Light!" she shouted. Just as Asmodemon was about to run them both through, his tendrils bounced off the white aura that momentarily surrounded Magnadramon.

With the attack foiled, Magnadramon loosened her coils enough for Seraphimon to fly free. "Seven Heavens!" His attacks scattered out into the dust cloud that concealed the Destroyer, dodging about wildly, hunting Asmodemon down.

Then Seraphimon saw the looming figure of Asmodemon shoot at him from the thick ash. In an instant all seven of his bolts turned toward Asmodemon as one and converged on him from behind. Without even a glance back, Asmodemon lashed with one of his tendrils and sent the energy of all seven shots scattering in every direction, leaving him free to grab at Seraphimon with his outstretched claw.

"Fire Tornado!"

Magnadramon's blast cut right in between Asmodemon and Seraphimon, giving the angel digimon the instant he needed to back away. He tried to attack again from a safe distance, but before he could one of Asmodemon's tendrils shot from the hovering ash on a direct course for him. It was all he could do to dodge to the side and duck under the backlash. Magnadramon fired again and again, trying to keep Asmodemon off balance long enough for Seraphimon to recover his.

"I was just like you once," Asmodemon said coyly as he moved about the chamber almost effortlessly, dodging everything Magnadramon threw at him. "Never has there been a greater Seraphimon than I was!"

"Nor a worse villain," Seraphimon retorted. "Seven Heavens!"

"I know your moves like I know my own!" Asmodemon cackled as he scattered the bolts that came after him with his claws. Between deflecting Seraphimon's attacks and dodging Magnadramon's flames he must have been distracted because he didn't even see it coming when Seraphimon landed a stunning punch to his face. Fearsome though the blow was, Seraphimon didn't get the chance to land another as Asmodemon spun to face him and slashed at the angel's head. Though Seraphimon's helmet fended off the strike, the three deep scars that now crossed his mask were enough to make him rethink close combat.

"You've got to get him pinned down!" Magnadramon shouted. "That's the only way this is going to work!"

"Just give me a minute!" Seraphimon called back to her.

"You don't have that long," Asmodemon said confidently. "All that power of yours is being sapped away even now. I can feel it dimming!"

"Now or never!" said Magnadramon.

Seraphimon charged in with a valiant yell. Quick as lightning, Asmodemon brought his tendrils slashing down at the angel from above, playing right into Seraphimon's hands. Seraphimon stopped, held up his hands, and grabbed hold of the deadly bone whips, whose razor-sharp edges proved unable to pierce the heavy armor of Seraphimon's gauntlets. Without giving Asmodemon a second to respond, Seraphimon wrapped his hands around both writhing tendrils and in one swift break, he tore the ends he held from their roots. Asmodemon shrieked and withdrew his severed tendrils to the ceiling. Seraphimon was not done yet though. He began to charge again, holding fast to the broken tendrils in his hand. Asmodemon started to fall back, but stopped when the bones Seraphimon held cracked like a whip. He looked up to see that his tendrils had been cut just above his head. He looked ahead just in time to see Seraphimon plow into his chest, slamming him to the ground.

"Do it now!" Seraphimon shouted with all his might.

"Blazing Twister!" Magnadramon roared as she circled high over the pair. She Let loose a continuous stream of fire from her mouth, pouring it directly onto Seraphimon and Asmodemon, and as she circled around it faster and faster the whole thing continued to grow until the center of the room was entirely filled with a pillar of twisting, swirling fire.

"No!" WarriorSetomon cried, having only just risen from where he lay. He charged headfirst into the flames and vanished right along with Seraphimon and Asmodemon.

Beelzemon watched as he kneeled, sweating and with only one eye open. The shouting in his own head had him almost crippled. Magnadramon continued making her circles as the twister grew ever larger and ever more unstable. Flares began to shoot from the sides of her attack, forcing her to dodge them. Still, she continued her attack, doing her best to keep it stable while staying alive. An especially large flare-up reached out to almost the edge of the room, blowing through one of the stone pillars in the process. It was all Beelzemon could do to roll out of the way of the falling rubble.

In only another few seconds, Magnadramon's stream of flames sputtered to a mere trickle, and then only a few smoky coughs. Her eyes closed, her flying grew unsteady, and she crashed to the ground, barely breathing. The glow that had surrounded her had faded to only a slight shimmer, and as it released its last radiance, she was reduced to a mere Gatomon.

Her attack, meanwhile, raged out of control. The outer edge seized in and out, sending ribbons of flame slicing through the great chamber. The core of the tornado glowed white-hot as it sucked inward on itself. Finally the outer edge of the attack exploded, searing all that it touched, while the core contracted down toward the floor, being absorbed into the one figure left standing there: WarriorSetomon.

He stood over Seraphimon, who still had Asmodemon pinned beneath him. All three were badly burned, but all three were still alive. WarriorSetomon had both eyes shut tight and his sword raised overhead. His muscles throbbed and his chest rose and fell quickly, almost painfully. Every single vein in his body swelled to bursting. "I couldn't let you die," he wheezed out after a few seconds.

With surprising vigor, WarriorSetomon reached down, grabbed Seraphimon by the collar, and yanked him off Asmodemon. Though Asmodemon had been charred in the few seconds of exposure he'd suffered before WarriorSetomon charged in, he was more than able to let out a wicked cackle. "My son, I knew you would truly be a great asset."

Seraphimon looked up at WarriorSetomon, defeated. His last-ditch attack had failed, and soon his powers would fail him just as Gatomon's had. WarriorSetomon held his blade up to Seraphimon. "I couldn't let you die, Seraphimon."

WarriorSetomon tossed both Seraphimon and his blade aside and opened his eyes, revealing a brilliant flame that practically erupted from within him. Asmodemon looked stunned as his son dug his claws into his ribcage. "Incendiary Strike!" WarriorSetomon roared.

The absorbed powers of Magnadramon's attack exploded from WarriorSetomon's claws, blowing clean through Asmodemon's body and expanding outward. Seraphimon, Gatomon and Beelzemon were all thrown back as the fire blasted through both the floor and ceiling, instantly engulfing all that they touched. Just like before, WarriorSetomon's attack ended as abruptly as it began, the final burst of power tossing him away from the abyss in the floor that his attack had opened up.

The next few minutes were very quite. As soon as he was able, Seraphimon stood and went to Gatomon. She awoke in his arms, but was utterly exhausted. Seraphimon reported only that Asmodemon had been destroyed to her. Beelzemon meanwhile simply stared at the void left in the center of the room where his master had been. Even the voices in his head acknowledged the moment with an awful silence. As for WarriorSetomon, he was just thankful the impact with the floor had restarted his breathing. Though he'd given up all of the power he'd absorbed from Magnadramon and a lot of his own in the attack, he was breathing easily enough and sitting up in a few minutes.

"WarriorSetomon?" Seraphimon asked, after wandering over to him. Though the name had almost been a whisper on Seraphimon's lips, they sounded like thunder against the all-consuming silence.

"Yeah?" WarriorSetomon asked with a slight cough.

"I thought…thanks."

WarriorSetomon smiled. "Thank her," he said, looking at Gatomon, passed out in Seraphimon's arms. "It was her power."

"Why did you do it?"

"I just…needed to see the light," WarriorSetomon said, then whispered: "and to know that Guilmon found it."

"I knew you were one of the good ones," Seraphimon said, placing a hand on WarriorSetomon's shoulder.

"I'm glad. I didn't know that myself for a little bit."

"Come on," Seraphimon said as he lifted WarriorSetomon onto his shoulder. "I think I've got enough left in me to get you out of here."

Seraphimon stood, carrying his two companions toward the exit. He looked aside to see Beelzemon, and though he knew Beelzemon was sure to be more confused than ever, removing Asmodemon would have nothing but good affects on the demon.

Suddenly a sharp, cold wind whipped through the chamber. Seraphimon turned on his heel and looked toward the center of the chamber. Countless particles of data strewn across the hall all began to glow red, and then shot into the center of the room at once, forming a mass. The blob twisted and reshaped itself, and in only a few seconds, there floated Asmodemon's vile body. As his red aura reignited itself within his chest cavity and boiled out through his eyes and waist, he was whole once again.

"It can't be!" Seraphimon yelled.

Asmodemon didn't respond. Instead, one of his tendrils snaked out from under his tabard, shooting from his side right at Seraphimon. Though the blow struck hard in the center of Seraphimon's chest plate, it did not pierce him. Instead he was knocked back hard into the stone steps at the entryway. As he was struck, the wind left his lungs and his power faded. He collapsed at the bottom of the stairs next to Gatomon, now reduced to a Patamon.

WarriorSetomon scrambled to his feet, looking frantically for his discarded weapon. "Once again, you have refused me," Asmodemon rasped. "When you finally embraced your purpose I thought you had finally begun to understand."

"I understand that I would have been nothing to you," said WarriorSetomon, still searching for his sword. "You only care about yourself."

"In time you would have given up anything at my whim," said Asmodemon.

"It's your whims that worry me. I wouldn't have meant any more to you than SamuSetomon or Guilmon."

"I could still bring him back for you, you know."

"No, you can't," WarriorSetomon said with a smile. "I felt him leave this place. He's escaped your hold forever."

Asmodemon rattled his tendrils like a snake's tail. "Nothing is forever. My reach will soon spread to every corner of this world. He will be mine or he will be dead, just like you and everything else in the digital world."

"Not after I kill you here!"

Asmodemon laughed again. "You already tried that, remember? You could destroy my body a thousand times and I will always come back. You couldn't harm me if I wanted you to."

"We'll see about that!"

"Just what do you think you can—?" Asmodemon suddenly stopped, his attention drawn elsewhere. "The tide has turned. Beelzemon! I must finish Omnimon's forces before our lines fail. I'll assume you can at least keep this child busy that long?"

Beelzemon still did not move.

Asmodemon quickly grew infuriated. "Beelzemon! This is no time for an identity crisis!"

"Looks like you're out of lackeys to boss around," WarriorSetomon said with a smirk.

Asmodemon fixed his gaze on Beelzemon, his eyes glowing brighter. Amidst the chaos in Beelzemon's head, the turmoil of now screaming voices, one voice raised above all the others, even Beelzemon's own voice. In an instant, all dissent was overpowered by Asmodemon's booming presence.

"Do as I command, Beelzemon," Asmodemon said with a cold anger. Beelzemon rose to his feet and turned to face WarriorSetomon. "I want it done quickly, too. Show him your real power."

Beelzemon hunched forward into a battle stance and snarled. Suddenly his eyes shifted to a green color, a pair of great black wings burst from his back, and a massive new gun materialized in his right hand. "Blast Mode!" he shouted as he charged at WarriorSetomon.

WarriorSetomon tried to lurch out of the way, but the now airborne Beelzemon was too swift for him. Beelzemon knocked him flat on his back then flew up and over before coming to a halt, hovering halfway between Asmodemon and WarriorSetomon.

Asmodemon lifted his right hand skyward, claws outstretched as a surging red glow began to coalesce in his palm. He almost seemed to be smiling. "It's almost time," he mused. "In only a few seconds, my Apocalypse Rain will wash away Omnimon and his army, and then no one will be left to stand against me."

"I won't let you!" WarriorSetomon shouted, standing up again.

"Beelzemon!" Asmodemon bellowed. "No interference. Kill them all now."

Beelzemon aimed his weapon at WarriorSetomon. Then he did a strange thing; he carved a glowing pentagram inscribed by a circle into the thin air in front of him. He aimed at the center of the figure and grinned. WarriorSetomon squeezed his eyes shut.

WarriorSetomon could hear his heart beating in the next few seconds. He heard the sound of sweat dripping from his matted hair onto the stone floor, the shallow breathing of his two allies behind him, and the subtle electrical sounds of Asmodemon's gathering attack. Then he heard a sound unlike any other, like the screams of a hundred voices shouting as one. It was quiet, far away, but somehow it seemed to drown out everything else. His eyes shot open, and there was Beelzemon in front of him, wings spread wide and gun aimed, but now he hovered on the opposite side of the pentagram, his attack aimed solely at Asmodemon.

"For my friends!" Beelzemon yelled. "Corona Destroyer!"

Beelzemon fired into the center of the pentagram, sending out an immense beam of light. Asmodemon fired his attack skyward just before the Corona Destroyer plowed through him, disintegrating half of his body and sending the other half scattering as bone fragments. As the attack faded and the pentagram broke apart, there was now a third gaping hole in Asmodemon's chamber, and Asmodemon himself had once again been torn apart. Beelzemon landed with a grim expression.

"Beelzemon?" WarriorSetomon asked in shock.

"Yeah, kid?"

"What was…how…?"

"Long story and it looks like I don't have the time to tell it."

The bones were already starting to pull back together again and Asmodemon's flesh was already reforming. "Traitors!" Asmodemon snarled as his skull was about halfway rebuilt. "I'm surrounded by them!"

Beelzemon quickly drew another pentagram. "Corona Destroyer!" Asmodemon was blasted apart again. "I can keep this up all day!" Beelzemon shouted.

"I think he can too," said WarriorSetomon.

"We'll see about that."

Asmodemon's severed head reformed first; it hovered at the far end of the room as it slowly grew back. "Too little too late," he said. "My attack has already been made, and this place will be wiped out along with all those digimon outside. There is no escape for any of—"

"Corona Destroyer!"

WarriorSetomon stood, cracking his neck and back. "Isn't there any way to kill him?"

"This seems to do the job just fine," said Beelzemon, flexing his fingers on the grip.

"But if you keep this up the roof is going to collapse on us eventually."

"Oh you'll die long before then," Asmodemon said as he once again began to regenerate.

"Tell us how to stop your attack!" WarriorSetomon demanded.

"It can't be stopped," said Asmodemon. "Not even by me. You've both seen it before, so you both know you are about to die."

"Corona Destroyer!" Asmodemon was destroyed yet again.

"Would you stop that already?" asked WarriorSetomon. "It's not helping."

"Hey, he needs data to come back, right?" said Beelzemon. "I keep destroying him and eventually he's gonna' run out, right?"

"I don't know, but—"

In an instant there were two shadowy flashes in front of Beelzemon and he let out a scream as a spray of blood spread out from his chest, arms, and legs. He fell back onto WarriorSetomon with a grunt. When WarriorSetomon looked up to see what had happened, he saw Asmodemon's tendrils hovering over him, almost fully regenerated, unseen by Beelzemon. He'd been focusing on the danger across the room instead of the one appearing at his feet. Beelzemon coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Damn it…"

Meanwhile, Lucemon looked skyward, away from the battle raging all around him. He had seen the light shoot out of the Hall of the Void Soul, and now he sensed it falling.

"Now is the time to fight," he said in that soft voice of his.

Lucemon spread his hands out before him, over the whole of the battlefield. He lowered his head and began to breathe deeply.

"Beelzemon!" WarriorSetomon shouted. "Get up!"

"Bastard tricked me," Beelzemon said, wincing in pain. The cuts he suffered went deep.

WarriorSetomon pulled himself out from under Beelzemon, letting the older digimon lean back against the steps. Though he didn't have his sword, WarriorSetomon wasn't about to give up just yet. He charged with all the fury left in his heart. As usual though, while his heart was never in doubt, it was his head that was his downfall. Charging in with claws extended, WarriorSetomon was backhanded by Asmodemon as soon as he was within striking distance. WarriorSetomon landed hard on his face, opening up the wounds he'd already sustained over the course of the day again and causing a nasty nosebleed.

"Pathetic," Asmodemon said, looking at WarriorSetomon. "Just pathetic. You were a waste of my efforts from the very beginning. Let this tower be the only thing to mark your shameful death."

"This ain't over!" Beelzemon shouted as he stood again, lifting his gun with noticeable discomfort.

"I'm through with your insolence, Beelzemon," Asmodemon snarled. "If you'd rather die fighting for them, then hurry up and do it."

"Not for them," said Beelzemon. "For me. Corona—!"

Asmodemon moved in lightning fast. "Havoc Strike!" The blows came so fast that Beelzemon couldn't even see them. He could only guess at how many times he'd been hit, but the flailing tendrils and claws and the sudden, searing pain told him that it was plenty.

Blood sprayed from Beelzemon's body and black feathers filled the air around him. His gun lay at his side, cut clean in half. Where his fearsome wings had been now remained only bloody stumps. He fell to his knees as drops of blood began to spatter the ground all around him. Asmodemon lifted his right claw to deliver the finishing blow and take Beelzemon's head clean off, but before he could strike he found himself surprised yet again by Beelzemon's speed and ferocity.

Beelzemon grabbed Asmodemon by the wrist and threw his masked head right into Asmodemon's skull, shattering bone and flesh like they were nothing. The blow hit so hard that it even caused a long crack right down the middle of Beelzemon's mask. "This…ain't…over…" Beelzemon repeated in a low growl. He closed his fist hard, shattering Asmodemon's radius and ulna just below the wrist. "I'll tear you apart with my bare hands!"

In the next instant, Asmodemon slammed his free claw into Beelzemon's attacking forearm. Even WarriorSetomon could hear the sickening snap of the bone. Beelzemon winced before he too was backhanded across the chamber. He hit the wall hard and the broken halves of his mask split apart and dropped from his face. As he fell to the floor he lost consciousness and reverted to his rookie form of Impmon.

Asmodemon was about to finish them all, but a quick glance upward at the tiny glimmers that were rapidly filling the sky told him that he had no time to spare. As his skull and arm began regenerating, he grabbed his jewel amulet in his left claw and yanked it from his neck. As he held the strangely-shaped crystal, its already reddish hue grew more pronounce and it started to glow violently. Asmodemon too seethed with energy and his burning aura grew more intense, spilling out wider from his body, circling around him like it was caught in a vortex. The whole tower began shaking violently as the lights in the sky grew brighter and brighter. The cast off rubble that had settled throughout the chamber danced around the floor, and then was whipped up in a cyclone as bolts of crimson lightning shot from Asmodemon's body. WarriorSetomon tried to stand and fight, but he fell again. He could only watch as Asmodemon was entirely consumed by the growing field of energy around him, and then disappeared as the field imploded and disappeared. The rubble that had not been sucked into the vortex fell to the floor again, just as Asmodemon's Apocalypse Rain came screaming down from the heavens.

Lucemon flung all twelve of his wings wide open at once, scattering hundreds of feathers into the wind. The feathers spread out far and fast, covering the entire field of battle in only a few seconds. "Seal!" Lucemon shouted as he clutched tight his fists. A strange gray mist shot between the feathers all at once, spreading out like a colossal pair of wings not even a second before the countless bolts of burning light from the Apocalypse Rain collided with it. Despite the power and explosive ferocity of every fragment of Asmodemon's attack, the gray mist held back every last bolt. Lucemon held still with his eyes shut, concentrating on nothing but maintaining the shield above him while for the first time in hours the combat below began to calm down as the legions on both sides looked to the chaos overhead. The shrieking of the falling bolts and the booming detonation on hitting the mist left everything else silent. Even from within the top of the Hall of the Void Soul, WarriorSetomon looked up in awe at salvation he never saw coming.

"What happened in here?" a voice asked from the steps.

WarriorSetomon looked back behind him. An unfamiliar digimon stood there, humanoid with a powerful cybernetic arm, an eyeless metal mask and a long, red scarf. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Justimon," the newcomer said with a slight nod. He looked around at the damage and the wounded Patamon, Gatomon and WarriorSetomon. "Don't tell me you guys won without me!"

"I…I guess so," WarriorSetomon said, not entirely sure of the answer. "Asmodemon just kind of…disappeared."

"Asmodemon?"

"The Destroyer."

"Oh." Justimon nodded.

"No, he ain't," Impmon groaned, already shaking off what must have been a concussion.

"Impmon!" Justimon yelled, quickly running to the small digimon's aid. "Are you alright?"

"Just back off!" Impmon shouted as he tried to sit up, holding his broken arm. "More important stuff to worry about than me!"

"What happened to the Destroyer?" Justimon asked.

"All part of the bastard's plan," said Impmon. "After he used his attack to wipe out Omnimon and his whole army, he was just gonna' use that catalyst stone of his to escape and leave even his own guys to die."

"Escape where?" asked Justimon.

"The human world," Impmon said sullenly. "He's gonna' wipe out all of his enemies in one day."

"No…" Justimon said in a moment of realization. "They'll be defenseless! How could you let him go, Impmon? What about Jeri? What about Ai and Mako? What about—"

"He ain't headin' there first, idiot!" Impmon shouted. "He said his first stop was gonna' be the east Earth."

"There has to be some way to go after him," said WarriorSetomon, joining the other two.

"I can go," said Justimon, standing up again.

"Not without me!" shouted Impmon. "I'm gonna' pay him back for everything!"

"Not in that shape you won't," said Justimon. "I've got to do this on my own."

"You can't," said Patamon, limping toward the three of them. "Asmodemon will be too strong even for you."

"Maybe," said Justimon, "but I can at least give the DigiDestined a fighting chance. Besides, I'm part human: I'm the only one that can breach the barrier."

"I'll go," said WarriorSetomon.

"You can't," said Justimon.

"I can," said WarriorSetomon. "I've been there. I'm part human too."

"Don't trust him, Ryo," said Impmon. "He sided with Asmodemon before and he'll do it again."

"Look who's talking!" WarriorSetomon snapped.

"Just shut up for a minute, both of you!" said Ryo. "Are you really part human?"

"Yes. I was made that way by my—by Asmodemon."

"You know me, Ryo. You can trust me; you can't trust him," said Impmon.

"You're in no shape to fight," said Ryo. "Besides, I couldn't bring you if I wanted to. You'd never make it."

"We've got to try!" Impmon insisted.

"Take WarriorSetomon," said Patamon. "You'll need his help, and…" Patamon looked WarriorSetomon in the eyes. "I believe in him more than ever."

"That's good enough for me," said Justimon. "Now we just need to find him and figure out how to stop him."

"It won't be easy," WarriorSetomon assured him. "He seems to come back at full strength no matter what we throw at him."

"Of course he does," said Impmon. "He's a data-weaver."

"Just what is a data-weaver?" asked Justimon.

"It means he can control data however he wants," said Patamon. "He can use it to make this tower; he can keep the data from any dead digimon in this place; he can even pull himself back together if he has enough data."

"So it's like I already said," Impmon said with a sneer. "You take out his data and you can take him out."

"Shouldn't be a problem if he's in the real world," said Justimon. "Raw data is a little bit harder to come by there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"Alright, just keep your shirt on," said Justimon.

"But I don't even have a shirt!"

"You may not have a shirt," said Gatomon, finally beginning to recover, "but you might want this." She dragged WarriorSetomon's sword toward him.

WarriorSetomon eagerly grabbed his sword, gave it a few quick swings and sheathed it on his back again with a satisfied smile. "It's seen better days, but I'd be lost without it. Thanks."

"Just think of it as a gift from me to Asmodemon," Gatomon said with a smirk.

"I'll be sure to let him know," WarriorSetomon grinned back.

"Impmon, I need you to take care of things here," said Justimon.

"What? Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Impmon yelled.

"Sorry buddy, but you've got to sit this one out," Justimon said to Impmon as he placed a hand on WarriorSetomon's shoulder.

"Ryo, you bastard! Take me with you!"

A flash of light surrounded Justimon and WarriorSetomon. They vanished along with it.


	41. A Warm Reception

"Here's to the happy couple," said Davis, raising his glass. The former DigiDestined had all gotten a few seconds together away from the rest of the party. "Ken, Yolei, you guys are really cool. Congratulations."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Real elegant as always, Davis."

"Thanks a ton, buddy," Ken said with a big grin as he and everyone else drank.

The wedding had ended about half an hour earlier and the reception was just getting started. Ken and Yolei had reserved a hotel ballroom in the heart of Tokyo. The floor was covered in tables arranged around a buffet under high ceilings. Three equally high windows covered the outer wall while on the opposite side of the room the band played. Friends and family filled the room, though given how big Yolei's family was and how small Ken's was, there was a slight imbalance in the guest list. Still, with the sounds of many happy, gabbing voices and the wedding having gone off without a hitch, the bride and groom couldn't have been more pleased with the whole thing.

"So do you two feel any different yet?" asked Tai.

"Honesty? Not really," Yolei admitted.

"Give it a little while," said Sora.

"Yeah, it'll sink in soon," said Matt.

"Oh Jack!" Amber called from the dance floor. "Come dance with me. You promised!"

"Be right there," he called back to her as he took another sip of his champagne.

"Now!" she insisted.

"I'll, uh, catch up with you guys a little later I guess," Jack said as he quickly made his way to the dance floor.

"Wow," said Cody. "That's quite a, uh, woman he's got there."

"She's horrible," said Kari.

"Tell me about it," said Sora. "I swear she ruined the whole bachelorette party."

"Just smile and nod," said Yolei, throwing on a big, fake grin. "Of course if she complains about anything today, I will end her."

"Now honey," said Ken. "Don't think about her. Just enjoy the party."

"Ken's right," said Davis. "Come on! Everything's great. Let's have fun!"

"How about a dance?" Kari asked Davis.

"I'd love to," he said. They broke off from the group, which made TK scowl a bit.

"So, uh, wasn't there something about a new job, Izzy?" Joe quickly asked his old friend, having spotted TK's expression.

"Oh yeah, it's amazing," Izzy said, suddenly sounding very excited. As he began to talk, the small group started splintering off. Tai, Willis and Michael headed for the buffet while Mimi, Sora, Matt and TK headed toward the bar, leaving Ken, Yolei, Izzy, Joe and Cody to talk amongst themselves.

"So where'd you disappear to earlier?" Michael asked Willis as they grabbed their plates and got in line.

"When?" asked Willis.

"Before the wedding," said Michael. "We thought you were going to miss it."

"Oh, you know. Nowhere special," said Willis.

"I know that tone," Tai said slyly. "I've used that tone. So who was it?"

"No one you know," said Willis. "Hey look! Noodles!"

"Was it someone at the wedding?" asked Tai.

"Give me a break you guys. I mean, just how fast of an operator do you take me for?"

"Uh-huh," Tai nodded. "So at least answer this: Ken or Yolei's side?"

"I'm betting one of the caterers," said Michael. "Or maybe an usher."

"You guys need a better hobby than speculating about my sex life," Willis said, shaking his head.

"It's a wedding," said Tai. "They're made for hooking up. Besides, I've got a bet riding on you."

"You're taking bets now?"

"Can I get in on that?" asked Michael.

"Look, it doesn't matter because I wasn't with anyone before the wedding, okay?"

At that point the three of them noticed one of Yolei's cousins waving at Willis. Willis sighed and waved back.

"Yes!" Tai exclaimed. "Matt owes me a thousand yen."

"Alright, alright," said Willis. "Just keep it quiet, okay? I'd rather not upset Yolei on her big day."

"What about Ken?" Michael asked. "It's his day too."

Tai and Willis both started laughing. "No, no it isn't," Tai corrected him. "He's just keeping his head low like the rest of us."

"Well, most of us," said Willis. "Suckamuck has really been in rare form today."

"I know," said Michael. "I mean, I know some people cry at weddings, but who cries at the wedding of someone they don't even know?"

"Only suckamuck," said Willis.

Izzy, meanwhile, was still going on about his new job.

"The best part is that I'll actually be working directly for Yosho Tanaka himself," said Izzy. "I mean the man is just such an incredible genius."

"Well now he'll have you to make him look even better," said a young woman who came up from behind Izzy.

"Hey there," he said with a big grin. "Everyone, this is Misaki. Misaki, this is Joe and Cody and of course you know Yolei and Ken."

"It was a really beautiful ceremony," said Misaki.

"I'm so glad you liked it," said Yolei.

"Hey wasn't that Tanaka guy's company just awarded some big military contract?" asked Cody.

"Yeah, I think so," said Izzy. "They'll be upgrading the SDF's electronics or something."

"He must have the best legal team in the world to pull off something like that," said Cody.

"No doubt," Izzy nodded.

Just then Ken's parents came up to the group. "How's everyone doing?" asked his dad.

"Fantastic," said Yolei. "I hope you're both enjoying yourselves."

"We sure are," said Ken's dad. "Hope you all don't mind if we borrow these two for a minute."

"Not at all," said Joe. "Come on, guys. We'd better get in line if we want to get in on that food."

As Cody, Joe, Izzy and Misaki went to get in the buffet line it left Ken with Yolei and his parents.

"We're so proud of you, Ken," said his dad.

"Everything was so lovely," Ken's mom said with a tender smile. "Yolei, we're so happy to have you joining our family. You know we both just love you."

"And we love that family of yours too," said Ken's dad. "I think your old man and I are going to have to hit the tennis court soon."

"Oh dear, don't be silly now," said Ken's mom. "You've never played a game of tennis in your life."

"Never too late to start," he said with a big laugh.

Yolei smiled. "I bet my dad would just love it. He seems to be having a great time."

"I just hope the caterer doesn't have any hard feelings toward him," said Ken.

"Oh it's all water under the bridge," Yolei assured him. "It's not like he's the first guy my dad ever put in a headlock."

Ken's dad laughed again. "Yep, he's my kind of guy alright."

Ken's mom reached out and gave Yolei a hug. "You be sure to take good care of my little boy," she said to her daughter-in-law.

"I will," Yolei said, hugging her back.

"I know you will, dear." She released Yolei after a second and moved in to hug Ken. "Oh my Kenny…"

Ken smiled and hugged her back. "I know, mom. I know."

"You've gotten so big," she said, squeezing him tight. "You'll always be my little boy though."

"And you'll always be my mom," he assured her.

She let him go after a few seconds to dab at the tears in her eyes. "You've both made me so happy, you know?"

"We know," said Ken.

"I'm sure that you're brother is very proud of you too, Ken," said his father.

Ken smiled. "I know he is."

They all nodded, saying nothing for a few seconds. Though it was sad to think of Sam's death, he was still part of the family. If ever there was a time for family, it was at a wedding.

Jack and Davis stepped off the dance floor and headed for the bar at about the same time while Amber went to sit down for a few minutes and Kari began talking to one of Yolei's sisters.

"So how's it going, Jack?" asked Davis.

"Alright, I guess."

"Just alright?"

"I'm having a good time. Glad I came; it's great seeing everyone again."

"So what's bugging you?" Davis asked.

"Nothing. It's not important," Jack assured him.

"If you say so."

"It's just something I have to deal with."

Davis sighed. "Just spit it out, alright? I think we've gotten to know each other well enough for that, 'Jackrabbit.'"

Jack chuckled. "Alright, fair enough. The thing is I'm not sure I should be with Amber."

"Why not?"

"Because I hate her."

Davis nodded. "That's a pretty good reason."

"Hey guys!" Matt called to them as they approached the bar.

"Hey Matt," said Davis. "So Jack, why do you…?"

"I don't know. Lately I've just been noticing she's kind of…fussy."

"Fussy?"

"And a little possessive."

"Doesn't sound so bad," said Davis.

"Yeah, it's probably just stress from traveling and all that."

"Who are we talking about?" asked Matt.

"Amber," Davis explained.

"Oh goody," Sora said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sure I'm making a big deal out of nothing," said Jack. "I mean it's not like anyone else seems to think she's all that bad."

"Yes. She's a, uh, a very friendly girl," said Matt.

"Yep. She's friendly alright," said Sora. "And so…observant."

"I've always liked that about her," said Mimi. "She can notice things I'd never even pick up on."

"She's a bitch," TK said after he finished his drink. All eyes immediately turned to him. "What? She is."

"Now that's a little harsh, bro," said Matt.

"It's not like she's all that bad," said Mimi.

"She's got a lot of good qualities," said Sora.

"You really think so, TK?" Jack asked.

"Totally," TK asserted. "She's rude, whiny, demanding, possessive, and I only met her a couple days ago but I swear she never stops crying."

"TK, that's not—" Matt started to say.

"Huh," Jack said, looking across the room at Amber. "You know, she is a little demanding. Come to think of it she's a lot demanding, and everything else, too."

Davis, Matt and Mimi said nothing.

"Well I hardly even know her," said Sora. "Maybe you two just need to sit down and work things out."

"Tried that," said Jack. "Couples therapy was the worst."

"Of course it was," said TK, "because she's a bitch."

"Now Jack, I'm sure TK doesn't mean it," said Mimi. "I mean he barely even knows her."

"Yeah, maybe," said Jack. "You know, for a while I thought it was just me, but TK sees it too now. Thanks, TK."

"Don't mention it," TK said with a nod.

"You know guys, I'm kind of surprised that no one else seems to notice what a train wreck she is," said Jack. "I mean, doesn't anyone pay attention anymore?" Again, Matt, Sora and Mimi had nothing to say. Jack went on. "I mean, Mimi, I'd think at least you would have noticed something like that by now."

Mimi sighed and resigned herself to sincerity. "To be honest, I kind of did notice it."

"Really?" asked Jack. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," said Mimi. "She seemed to make you happy and I didn't want to mess that up and make you mad at me."

"Yeah, I know," said Jack. "Come on though. If you'd let me know way back when I started seeing her I would've realized how she was. We were close enough for you to be honest with me back then, right?"

"Look, don't get crazy," Davis cut in. "I mean, there's got to be a lot to like about her if you've stuck with her this long, right?"

"Well it'd be wrong to just cut her loose, right?" asked Jack. "I mean, it's so…so… What's the word I'm looking for?"

The others shrugged.

"Dishonorable," said Jack.

"If you say so," said Mimi.

"I don't know," said Matt. "Maybe what's really dishonorable is not being honest with her, sticking around even though you don't even really seem to like her."

"You think?" asked Jack.

"Jack, I'm telling you that you should be talking to her about this," said Sora.

"Sora's right," said Davis. "Sit down and talk it out. Wouldn't be much of a friend if I said otherwise, right?"

"Hah!" TK laughed. "A friend?"

Davis turned to TK. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Just seems like you haven't been such a great friend lately," said TK.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Davis.

"Well, I thought you were my best friend, but then you went and stole Kari from me."

"I didn't steal her!" Davis insisted. "You two were already broken up!"

"Come on, you know she always liked me more than you," TK said dismissively.

"Who, whoa, whoa. Calm down, guys," said Matt.

"TK I'm sorry Kari dumped you," Davis assured him. "It was up to her though."

"Yeah, it's all my fault, wasn't it?" asked TK. "I'm just so terrible to live with, aren't I? So why is it that you two started dating right after we broke up?"

"TK, bro, you need to back off and take a breather," said Matt.

"Yeah, TK. Stop acting like such a big baby," said Davis. "So Kari picked me. Get over it."

"She didn't pick you," TK insisted. "She landed on you. How long do you think it's going to be before she realizes what a huge mistake it is being with you?"

"TK! Stop talking!" Matt ordered.

"You know, she was right about you," said Davis. "You really do think she's all yours and nobody else can have a shot at her, don't you? You know, I always thought I never stood a chance against you in her eyes, but look at me now."

Matt looked up and froze, as did Mimi, Jack and Sora.

"Yeah, that's right," said Davis, still staring TK down. "Look who has Kari now! Who's the man, I ask you? That's right, I'm da man. Is it because I'm more charming? Am I a better friend? Or am I just that much sexier? I bet it's all three, but it doesn't really matter. Know why? Because I. Am. Da. Ma-an!"

It was then that Davis noticed everyone else was staring over his shoulder. He turned around to see what had drawn their gaze, and as soon as he did he wished he was dead. There was Kari, looking at him with the blood rushing to her face, her arms crossed tightly in front of her, tapping her foot angrily.

"Kari, I—"

She didn't wait for an explanation. She just turned around and stomped off.

"Kari! Wait! I'm sorry!" Davis yelled as he took off after her.

Elsewhere, Ryo, Monodramon and Narias collapsed on the sidewalk after an unusually rough ride between dimensions.

"Well that sure sucked," Narias said as he rubbed his forehead. "What, was that your first time or something?"

"Like you could do any better," Ryo said as he rolled over onto his back and sat up. "Besides, the barrier was all torn up. Probably the Destroyer's doing."

Narias stood up and looked himself over. He had to brush his shaggy red hair out of his eyes to get a good view, but it looked like his human form had done some growing up since he'd last seen it. He looked to be in his mid-twenties or so, and though he was dressed like he was before—without shoes, his feet bandaged, baggy jeans, an undershirt and a pair of fingerless, brown leather gloves with metal plates over the knuckles—he looked a bit shabbier. There were big holes worn in both knees of his jeans, and he ran his hand over his jaw to find thick stubble. On his right shoulder he found three long, broad stripes like he had on his digimon body since he was a Setomon, but now they were pale red, like scars maybe, or a sunburn. Bushy though his hair was, the bulk of it seemed pulled back into a ponytail behind him.

Ryo finally got his bearings enough to look over at Narias. "Whoa," he said. "WarriorSetomon? Is that you?"

"Yea, it's me," said Narias. "That would make you Justimon, I guess."

"Ryo will work." Ryo looked to his other side and saw Monodramon slumped against a building upside-down, looking a little queasy. "You alright, Monodramon?"

"I've been better, Ryo," Monodramon said back in a sickly tone. "The whole world's kind of spinning."

"Yeah, it'll do that sometimes," Ryo said as he looked at a long scrape on his forearm he'd gotten during the landing. "I guess we should be thankful though."

"Why's that?" Narias asked as he tried to stand up, but almost immediately fell forward onto his hands and knees again.

"The Destroyer left us a pretty obvious path to follow," Ryo explained. "Without it there's no way I would have known where on this earth to take us."

"So he's close then?" asked Narias.

"Can't be too far, but we should start looking right away," Ryo said as he took out his D-Arc. "Don't want him to get too far." He waved his digivice around. "Damn. Not picking anything up. Some days I'd kill for the tracking software in my old digivice."

Monodramon fell over onto his belly and looked like he was about to puke, but managed to hold it back. "I'm okay," he moaned.

"Just walk it off," said Ryo. "You'll be fine in a few minutes."

Narias leaned forward and stuck his nose to the cement. Unsurprisingly the passing pedestrians who were already doing their best to ignore the three of them started walking by just a bit faster when they saw this. "Damn human nose," said Narias. "I'm barely getting anything."

Ryo pushed himself to his feet and leaned against the building to steady himself. "We'll find him," he said. "Something tells me this guy isn't going to bother staying hidden for very long."

"Wait…there it is," said Narias.

"You smell something?" Monodramon asked, rolling onto his back.

"Yeah, I got him," said Narias. "It's not very strong, but that smell of his is hard to mistake. On your feet; we can't lose him."

"We're right behind you," Ryo said as he hoisted his sickly partner onto his back.

After pursuing Kari across the crowded dance floor, tripping over a chair, knocking over a tray of hors d'oeuvres, and continuing right on out into the hallway, Davis finally caught up to her. "Kari, wait. Just let me explain."

Kari balled her hands into fists at her sides and turned to face him. Her face was beet red and her eyebrows were arched menacingly. "Davis, I have never, _ever_ been as mad at you as I am right now. Back off."

"But Kari, you don't understand."

"What, was this whole thing some kind of competition for you?"

"Of course not!" Davis said defensively.

"So then what? What could you possibly say to make this any better?"

"I'm really sorry," said Davis. "You see, TK was being all—"

"TK?" she asked. "You're going to try and blame this on TK?"

"Honest! He was acting like I don't even deserve you!"

"What is wrong with you?!" she shouted. "With both of you? God, it's like you care more about fighting with each other than you do about me! I'm starting to think neither one of you deserve me!"

"But Kari, I was just trying to—"

"Trying to what? Trying to show what a big man you are now that you finally got me?"

Davis said nothing.

Kari shook her head. "You've said enough. I can't deal with this right now." She walked past Davis back toward the reception.

"Where are you—?" Davis started to ask.

"To get my purse," said Kari.

"I'll get it for you."

"I'd really prefer you didn't."

Back at the reception, a new, uninvited guest had just arrived. He grinned wickedly as his eyes peered over the room, seeing one DigiDestined after another, until finally he saw the one he most wanted: the blonde young man by the bar. Amadeus slowly made his way through the crowd.

Matt pushed TK back against the bar. "What were you thinking, TK?" he asked. "What's the matter with you? I thought you were getting over this whole thing."

"Just leave me alone, Matt," TK said as he averted his eyes.

"Don't be too hard on him, Matt," Sora warned.

"Matt's right, TK," said Mimi. "That was way out of line. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're getting pretty sick of this moody streak of yours."

"Takeru, you listen good," Matt warned his little brother. "You are going to go after those two and explain yourself to both of them, and you are going to do a damn good job of it, because if you don't, and if you wreck this for them, then you and I are going to have a big problem."

There was a glint of metal as a steel blade began to lower slowly from where it was concealed in a long sleeve. A pair of eyes watched the brothers fight while continually scanning from side to side. He held his breath in anticipation of the moment.

"It really was a beautiful wedding," Kari said to Yolei. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer."

"Don't go, Kari," Yolei pleaded. "I promise you things will be okay. Just stay and try to have a good time."

"I'm really sorry, but I just can't. It's Davis and TK and it's just such a mess right now."

Yolei gave her a hug. "Alright," she said solemnly. "Just remember that I'm here to help, okay? You don't want to try to go through all this alone."

"I'll be fine," Kari said despondently. "Just enjoy the rest of the party, and if I don't see you I hope your honeymoon is wonderful."

Amadeus lunged forward, his bony fingers outstretched, grasping at TK's throat. Then there was a flash of metal, a shout, and a spray of blood. The long blade of a katana protruded through Amadeus' chest, and his fingers twitched mere inches from TK's neck. Matt, TK and everyone else in the area recoiled of course, except for the blade-wielding man in beige standing directly behind Amadeus.

"Impossible!" Amadeus coughed out along with a mouthful of blood.

The man in beige tossed off his now blood-spattered hood, revealing his youthful face. It took a few moments, but then one of the DigiDestined recognized him.

"Gennai?" asked Matt.

"Get back, all of you!" Gennai shouted. "He's not dead yet!"

"Not by a long shot!" Amadeus shouted, lunging forward again, pulling himself from the tip of Gennai's blade. TK and the others all backed away further. "I'm not about to give up so easily!"

Gennai leapt over Amadeus' head, landing between him and the small group of DigiDestined. He held his katana out in front of him to ward Amadeus away. "Go quickly!" Gennai warned them.

Amadeus grinned and looked over Gennai's shoulder, catching TK in the eyes. "Child of hope, you remember me, don't you?"

"Who are you?" TK asked.

"Of course you remember…" Amadeus said, grinning even wider. "It was not so long ago that you could forget it. That day at Infinity Mountain, I almost killed you."

TK's eyes opened wide. "It can't be…"

"Flee!" Gennai shouted at the top of his lungs. To his relief, the stunned guests finally heeded his warning and began racing for the exits. Matt tried to drag TK along with the crowd, but TK seemed transfixed by Amadeus' eyes.

"I said back then that I would start with you, the smallest child," said Amadeus. "I intend to carry that promise out."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Gennai, trying to recapture Amadeus' attention.

Amadeus returned his gaze to Gennai. "Do you think to stop me with that toy?"

"In this place, with you in that body, it just might work," said Gennai.

"You greatly underestimate me, Guardian," Amadeus hissed.

Gennai attacked, slashing at Amadeus' head, then at his chest twice while Amadeus continued dodging back. Amadeus counterattacked with a kick at Gennai's head, which he dodged under, giving him a chance to thrust his blade at Amadeus' chest. Amadeus deflected the attack with a quick strike to the blade's side with his palm, which sent Gennai's sword thrusting right past Amadeus' side and allowed the demon to lock his arm around Gennai's wrists and strike him in the ribs repeatedly with a balled fist. After three blows, Gennai pulled back with all his strength, knowing that Amadeus was not about to loosen his grip so easily. Amadeus moved right along with Gennai, which worked against him when Gennai rolled onto his back and placed his foot to Amadeus' chest. Amadeus was tossed and rolled into a now abandoned table, plowing through a couple chairs before knocking the whole table over. He hadn't even stood up yet when Gennai was leaping at him with his katana pointed downward, but he nonetheless managed to roll out of the way. Gennai's sword glanced off the floor, but he wasn't about to let Amadeus get off so easily. While the demon was still close enough he made a strong, horizontal slash at him that just barely connected with his cheek, sending a splattering of blood over the white tablecloth around their feet. In almost the same instant, Amadeus landed a solid kick to Gennai's shoulder, both knocking the Guardian onto his back and helping Amadeus springboard back out of range of Gennai's attacks, a respite that he was clearly in need of.

"What do these few lives mean to you?" Amadeus asked as he wiped the blood from his cheek with his thumb.

"Enough to risk my own for their sakes," Gennai said as he calmly stood again and returned to his fighting stance.

"Their usefulness to you ended long ago, Guardian," Amadeus said with a growl.

"So then why are you here?" asked Gennai.

"Let's call it a bad case of nostalgia," Amadeus said with a grin. "You remember back then, don't you?"

"I remember you were the one keeping me from contacting them," said Gennai. "You were the one the Dark Masters told to hide the tags. You did everything you could to stand in their way. Why take the fight to them now?"

"I know you Guardians. You would fight this war with every digimon you could and it would drag on for years. Eventually though, the tide will turn against you." Amadeus' eyes darkened as the cut on his cheek began to grow, the flesh around it tightening against his skull. "When you were desperate, you would have called in your human allies again. Well this time I'm going to keep that from being a problem."

"We won't need them this time," said Gennai. "I'm sure that Omnimon has already taken care of your forces, leaving you alone to stand against me."

Amadeus cackled. "Once again you underestimate me. What Omnimon fought is only an eighth of my army. The bulk of my troops are moving on the rest of the world under the command of my elite Demon Corps. Polaris, Westmarch and Hub will be razed by the day's end. Even better, Omnimon and his army have already been wiped out, so that when I return there will be nothing to stand in my way."

Gennai smiled and stepped forward just a bit. "Now you're the one underestimating us and our allies." He charged at Amadeus again.

The party guests, meanwhile, had all crowded out into the lobby. Hotel security was busily sealing off all entrances to the ballroom and Ken was cursing himself for not being armed.

"The police are on the way," said Sora, returning from the front counter.

"Good work," said Ken. "Yolei! Where are you?"

"Over here!" Yolei called, quickly running to her husband's side.

"I want you to make sure my parents get out of here," he said.

"Ken's right," said Tai. "We need to get everyone to safety right away."

"What's going on in there?" asked Cody.

"I'm not sure, but I think the party's over," said Tai.

"This is big," said Matt. "That was Gennai back there. This has something to do with…"

"All the more reason to get everyone out of here," said Tai. "We've got to make sure they're safe first before we go back in there."

"Go back in there?" asked Misaki. "Are you out of your mind?"

"He's right," said Izzy. "You need to get out of here. We're pretty good at handling this kind of thing."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Just go, alright?" asked Izzy. "We'll be fine."

"No way," said Misaki. "I'm not leaving if you're going to be doing something stupid."

"Get out with her, Izzy," said Sora. "No sense in all of us staying, right?"

"No way," said Izzy. "I've been waiting for something like this for a long time and I am not missing this chance."

"I'll go," said Mimi. "I mean someone has to make sure everyone's okay, right?"

"I'm with you, Mimi," said Michael.

Jack turned to Amber. "Honey, you stick with Mimi."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Where will you be?"

"I'm staying here," he told her. "Trust me; it's just something I have to do."

"Something you have to do? What kind of talk is that?"

Mimi grabbed Amber by the shoulders and shook her. "For once in your life, just shut up and follow me!" Mimi shouted at her.

"Yolei, my parents," said Ken.

"I'm not leaving without you, Ken," she said.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

Yolei grabbed Ken and kissed him hard. "I'm coming back for you once they're safe," she said.

In another minute or so, Mimi, Michael, Yolei, Willis, Joe, Kari and Cody had all gone to make sure everyone got out safely. Of all the guests, the only non-DigiDestined who had elected to stay behind was Misaki.

"Alright, so what exactly are we dealing with?" asked Tai.

"Two men," said Matt. "One of them was Gennai. The other one I didn't recognize, but the more I think about it, the more I think he might have been that Amadeus guy that Yolei and Kari saw."

"If Gennai's involved, then I'm betting Amadeus is not human," said Sora.

"No, he's not," said TK, who until now had been quiet. "He's…Devimon.

"What?" the other original DigiDestined still there asked.

"I don't know how, but he is," said TK. "He said so himself."

"This is really bad then," said Tai.

"The odds of Devimon showing up here after so long are astronomical," said Izzy, scratching his chin the way he did whenever he really started to get interested. "Even if he did finally manage to reconfigure himself, there's just no way he could have gotten here from the digital world."

"Well like it or not, he's here," said Ken. "The question is how to send him back."

"What are you talking about?" asked Misaki. "Who's Devimon?"

"Honey, we're going to have a long, boring talk about my childhood when we get home," said Izzy. "For now, just try to go with the flow."

"It's not like we even have our digimon to help us out anymore," said Jack.

"There's still got to be something we can do," said Tai. "We may not have our digivices or our digimon, but I've always thought there was more to being DigiDestined than those things, right?"

"Right on," said Matt.

"Well it's time to show Devimon just what that is," said Tai. "I don't know what we'll be able to do, but I know it's got to be better than doing nothing."

Narias pressed his nose to the ground again. "He's close," he said, "but man does this city stink."

"Um, WarriorSetomon?" asked Ryo.

"Give me a sec, okay? This isn't easy."

"WarriorSetomon," Ryo said again.

"If you think _your_ sniffer can do any better I'd love to see you try."

"WarriorSetomon, just look up already."

Narias did just that. Dead ahead he saw a hotel with a stream of people quickly evacuating through the front doors. "Well yeah, if you want to do it the easy way."

"Let's get in there already!" Monodramon insisted from Ryo's back.

"Y'know, you can feel free to walk anytime," said Ryo.

"Mush!" Monodramon barked.

Narias started to run toward the hotel with Ryo hot on his heels, but before he actually got inside he stopped in his tracks. Ryo continued a few more paces before stopping and turning back to him.

"WarriorSetomon?" Ryo asked. "Hey! Time's wasting."

"Hang on," Narias said, looking at someone in the evacuating crowd.

"Saving the world, remember?" Ryo asked.

"Go on, I'll be right behind you."

Ryo rolled his eyes and continued on in, thanks in part to Monodramon's spurring him in the sides. Narias meanwhile still looked at the young woman, and in another second she saw him too. It was Kari, and though she couldn't quite place where she'd seen Narias before, there was a moment of recognition between the two of them.

"Thank you," Narias said to her before quickly following Ryo inside.

Ryo, meanwhile, ran up to the first group of people he saw inside. "Where is he?" he asked.

"Who are you?" asked Davis.

"Ryo. Where is he?"

Davis looked confused. "Where's who?"

"Oh come on, you're evacuating the building. You must know who I mean," said Ryo.

Davis squinted. "Have we met before?"

Monodramon poked his head over Ryo's shoulder. "Don't think so."

"Eep!" Misaki yelped. "What is that?"

"Prodigious!" said Izzy. "It's a digimon!"

"Where are they all coming from?" asked Matt. "Did somebody forget to lock the door to the digiworld or something?"

"Who cares?" asked Tai. "They can fall out of the sky for all I care if they're here to help stop Devimon."

Misaki's face lit up after the initial shock wore off. "He's adorable!"

"Seriously, if you could just point or something," said Ryo.

Narias ran up behind Ryo. "Well? Where is he?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," said Ryo.

"Well what's taking so long?" Narias asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" said Ryo.

"I thought we were trying to figure out where the Destroyer was," said Monodramon.

"That too!" said Ryo.

"Maybe we should try to find out where the Destroyer is first and then work on why this is taking so long," Narias suggested.

At that moment, Yolei ran back inside. "Ken, your parents will be fine," she said. "They just wanted me to make sure—Wait, who're they?"

"Does it matter?" asked Jack. "They've got a digimon."

"Well I think it matters a little," said Yolei. "Would it be so rude to ask their names if they're here to help?"

"Ryo," said Davis.

"Which one?" asked Yolei.

Ryo rolled his eyes and raised his hand.

"Nice to meet you," said Yolei. "We're very glad you could make it to the reception."

"Wait, Ryo?" asked Ken.

"Yeah?" asked Ryo.

"Ryo!" Ken exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Ryo squinted. "Wait…Ken? Is that really you?"

"In the flesh."

"It's been forever!" Ryo exclaimed.

"Um, Ryo?" asked Monodramon. "Big angry demon digimon, remember?"

"Monodramon, this is Ken, remember?" Ryo asked.

"Nice to see you again, Ken," said Monodramon.

"Who's your friend?" asked Ken.

"This is Monodramon," said Ryo. "You remember Veemon, don't you?"

"I mean your other friend," said Ken.

"WarriorSetomon," said Ryo.

"He's a digimon?" asked Tai.

"I actually prefer Narias while I'm a human," said Narias.

"Wait, did you say something about a reception?" Ryo asked as he looked Ken and Yolei up and down. "You're married, Ken?"

"For almost an hour now," said Ken.

"Congratulations! If I'd known I would've brought a present," said Ryo.

"Oh, Ryo!" said Davis. "Now I remember you."

"Hey! Focus!" Narias shouted. "Asmodemon. Destroyer. Bad. Where is he?"

"He's right," said Ryo. "Ken, where is the Destroyer?"

"Well, if we're talking about the same guy, he's right through there." Ken pointed.

Narias immediately took off, quickly followed by Ryo and Monodramon. "Thanks!" Ryo shouted back. "We'll catch up a little later, okay?"

One of the hotel's security personnel stepped in Narias' way. "Sir, you can't—"

"Outta' the way!" Narias shouted as he leapfrogged over him.

Gennai chopped at Amadeus' left shoulder, but Amadeus twisted out of the way and clawed at Gennai's face with his right hand. Gennai pulled back, but his hand immediately went to his face when he felt a sharp pain there. When he looked at his fingers they were dabbed with blood, as were Amadeus'. Amadeus held up his right hand, which had now sprouted black claws from his fingertips. The flesh around the new claws was quickly rotting, just like the flesh on his cut cheek. By now that wound had turned fully half of his face into that of a corpse; his left eye had completely sunken away and was replaced by a glowing red light in a black pit.

"Do not think any less of me for assuming a human form," Amadeus warned.

"I see there's no hiding what you are then, Destroyer," Gennai said as he scanned Amadeus' stance for weakness. "We Guardians may not be digimon, but we're still fighters." Gennai thrust his sword toward the center of Amadeus' chest. Though the Destroyer tried to dodge back away from the attack he just wasn't fast enough and the blade pierced between his ribs and burst through the other side. It was enough to give him pause, and that was all that Gennai needed to pull the sword out through Amadeus' side.

Amadeus growled and held his side. "Damn human form…"

"You're not looking well," said Gennai. "Don't tell me even the great Destroyer can feel pain."

"Guardian filth," Amadeus cursed. "I will soon teach you what pain really is."

"Banzai!" someone shouted from behind Amadeus.

Before the Destroyer could even turn to look, Narias was on top of him. He leapt through the air with his fists outstretched and slammed both metal-plated knuckles into Amadeus' back, throwing him face-first to the floor. As Amadeus hit the ground, Narias brought his legs in and flipped forward off of Amadeus and landed in a crouch, skidding to a stop next to Gennai.

Amadeus slowly rose to his feet with a snarl on his face. "What are _you_ doing here? You should be dead by now!"

Narias stuck out his tongue. "Guess again, Asmodemon! And while you're at it, you can kiss this!" He turned around and gave his rear a good slap for Amadeus.

"Seems you still need to learn your place!" said an enraged Amadeus.

"Boy, if you didn't like that then you're gonna' hate this," Narias said with a smile.

"Wha—"

"Geronimo!" Monodramon shouted, again from behind Amadeus. He landed on Amadeus' head, covered his eyes, and held on for dear life.

Gennai didn't even wait for the signal to go from Ryo and Narias. In an instant he was right in front of Amadeus. His sword barely hesitated as it sliced through the Destroyer's waist.

Monodramon quickly backed away and met up with Ryo again. It was the two of them behind Amadeus and Gennai and Narias in front. The DigiDestined who had followed hovered near the doorway, watching things play out for the time being. Amadeus coughed up blood and clenched his teeth.

"Think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Amadeus asked, the sound of gurgling blood rising in his throat. Amadeus stood very still as his skin began to rapidly dry out, crack, and peel away. His face twisted and contorted; his remaining eye receded into his skull and a pair of horns erupted from his temples. "I am the void," he said in Asmodemon's raspy voice while his torso began to expand outward, stretching both his clothing and his skin to the breaking point. "I am the emptiness in which all light dies." His joints popped and creaked as he rolled his shoulders back and twisted his clawed fingers free from the decaying human flesh. "Look on me and despair, for in me you will see the perfect beauty of annihilation." His tendrils tore loose from his sides and sent his fleshy disguise scattering, leaving the looming form of Asmodemon un-obscured. "Weep bitter tears, knowing that only at this late hour can you finally appreciate that the value of life lies in teaching us to value death." Asmodemon fixed his gaze on Gennai, and then lashed out with one of his tendrils. Gennai's katana fell to the ground, the blade snapped in half. Asmodemon retracted his tendril and breathed out slowly. "Asmodemon: Mode Change."

Asmodemon's shoulder blades stuck out, and then spread wide as a pair of what may have once resembled wings burst out from under them. They were like the rest of his body, being bone covered in thin brown flesh, and there were two joints along the appendages. From each joint and from the tip projected a long, carved bone, black and finely polished, just like Asmodemon's claws. While the innermost bones were fairly short, the middle ones were longer and the last bones projecting from the tips of these "wings" must have been as long as Asmodemon's arms. They were almost like the wings of a bat, except for the fact that the fingers were instead solid, joint-less bone, and there was no membrane between them, which meant these wings could serve no purpose beyond impaling the Destroyer's enemies upon. The flesh that covered Asmodemon's upper body began to crawl and spread, growing thicker on his arms, moving out of the way of new, bony spikes that grew from Asmodemon's frame. The flesh pulsed with new life and spread to give Asmodemon a larger, even more intimidating shape. Finally, his tendrils seemed to writhe and fight against themselves for a few seconds before tearing themselves in half all along their length, but as they regenerated, there were no longer only two tendrils to worry about, but four. Asmodemon chuckled to himself. "Crisis Mode."


	42. Death

[A/N: there has been a slight text revision to the last line of the previous chapter.

"Well this is new," Narias said nervously.

Without a word, Asmodemon shot each of his four tendrils at a different target. While Gennai was able to sidestep the lightning-quick attack without too much difficulty, Narias and Ryo were a bit more awkward about it; Ryo fell backwards and the tendril narrowly shot past his shoulder while Narias jumped back and the tendril skipped off the ground where he had been crouching. The fourth tendril struck down at Monodramon from above, and though Monodramon took a step back out of the way, the tendril drove through the ground and popped back up again behind him. Only by dropping flat on his stomach did Monodramon keep from being impaled.

Asmodemon cackled with delight, his voice now deep and rumbling, almost bestial. "It feels so good to finally stretch my wings again! Maybe I should take the time to really enjoy my work this once, don't you think?"

"Fall back," said Gennai. "We can't fight him like this."

Asmodemon cracked one of his tendrils like a whip and slashed open Gennai's left arm. The Guardian gasped in pain and clutched his new wound. "I didn't say you could leave," Asmodemon said mockingly.

"We've got to do something," Tai whispered to the others where they stood at the far end of the room.

"Like what?" Davis whispered back.

"I don't know but it better be good," said Tai.

Narias meanwhile looked like he was about to charge in, but Gennai quickly clapped a hand down on his shoulder. "Not yet," Gennai whispered to him. "Wait for it."

Monodramon and Ryo meanwhile exchanged quick glances behind Asmodemon. Ryo quietly removed his digivice from his pocket and winked at Monodramon. Monodramon nodded back and looked at Asmodemon with a smile. "Hey ugly!" he shouted. Asmodemon turned his gaze toward Monodramon and lifted his wings just slightly. "So are you just gonna' stand there all day or are you afraid of one little rookie?"

"It sounds like you just volunteered to be the first to go," Asmodemon said with a hint of pleasure. He then let out a piercing shriek as he moved in on Monodramon, his tendrils snaking through the air around him, his wings moving in and out in time with his ribcage, as though the Destroyer still had the need or means to breathe. Asmodemon raised his left wing and pointed the long bone at the end toward Monodramon. He would end it in one decisive blow.

"Biomerge activate!" Ryo shouted.

Asmodemon hesitated for an instant when he heard Ryo's voice, and though he almost immediately stabbed at Monodramon once he realized what was going on, it was too late. Monodramon's data flew apart an instant before Asmodemon's blow landed and was drawn into the glowing light that had suddenly engulfed Ryo.

"Thunder Clap!" Justimon's voice cried out. He sailed out of the blinding light with his right arm enlarged and sparking with energy. Justimon slammed his fist into Asmodemon's chest and threw his whole body into the follow-through. Between the force of Justimon's punch and the explosive wave of power released by his Thunder Clap, Asmodemon was blown clean through one of the three windows looking out over the street just outside and the bay not far beyond that.

"Nice one!" Narias said encouragingly.

"I'll do what I can," said Justimon. "If you can turn back into a digimon, now would be the time." Justimon jumped out through the window after Asmodemon.

"Right!" said Narias. He looked down at his hands, then his chest, and then he looked all over himself. "Umm…how do I do that?"

Gennai picked his broken katana up off the ground and patted Narias on the shoulder. "Come on, we're going after them."

"Gennai! Wait!" Tai shouted as he ran up to the pair, followed closely by the other DigiDestined.

Gennai turned to them and smiled. "It's been a while, everyone. Sorry I can't stay to chat, but we're a bit busy as you can see."

"We want to help," Tai insisted.

Gennai only chuckled. "I know you do, my boy. Believe me, I know the feeling all too well." His smile quickly faded and he took on an almost sullen look. "It's out of your hands this time, though. Out of mine too, if you can believe it. If you really want to help, then take cover and make sure Asmodemon can't get what he came here for."

"We can't do that!" said Matt. "We stopped Devimon before, right? We'll do it again."

Gennai shook his head. "Not this time," he said as he tightened his grip on Narias' shoulder and took off running for the broken window with the young human/digimon hybrid in tow.

"Voltage Blade!" Justimon slashed at Asmodemon with one of the more potent weapons in his arsenal, but Asmodemon crossed two of his tendrils in the path of the attack. To Justimon's shock, his blade couldn't cut through the tendrils, and he was left completely open to the counterattack from the other two. Though he managed to push away, they cut him on the left side and right leg as he repelled back.

"Pitiful," said Asmodemon. "You were so much stronger before you allowed this human to sap your fighting spirit."

"You're wrong, Destroyer," said Justimon. "When humans and digimon work together we're stronger than either of us could ever be alone."

"Now that doesn't sound like the Millenniumon I remember," Asmodemon snickered. "Seems to me that this human has weakened more than just your attacks; your whole attitude has softened."

We'll see about that! Justice Kick!" Justimon launched himself at Asmodemon and struck him dead center in the chest with the full force of his attack. Asmodemon didn't move an inch, and for the first time it dawned on Justimon that the Destroyer may be unbeatable.

Justimon's got his attention, but it won't last long," said Gennai as he and Narias watched from behind a parked car. "As soon as Asmodemon gets bored with him he'll kill Justimon and look for his next victim."

"Did you _see _that?" asked Narias. "Asmodemon didn't even flinch! There's no way we can beat him!"

"It's true, Asmodemon's mode change made him much stronger," said Gennai. "I'd guess his power has increased five fold or so."

"Are you kidding me?" Narias asked. "The guy was unstoppable before."

"Don't let him fool you," Gennai warned. "His greatest strengths come from his data-weaving. It lets him harden his body to shrug off attacks like that one, or to rebuild himself when he takes damage. Without that, he's no more unstoppable than any other digimon."

"Yeah, well, he _does _have that."

"This is a fight that can be won, Narias, but not by me." Gennai sighed and said, "I've seen your come a long way very fast. I trust you, Narias."

"Great to hear, but I'm not much help right now."

Asmodemon roared and charged at Justimon, slashing and stabbing at him with his wings as he drew closer. Justimon bounded backwards as Asmodemon's wings tore through the asphalt street and snapped streetlights like twigs. Finally when Asmodemon's strikes were next to unavoidable, Justimon leapt high into the air, well out of range of the deadly wings, only to find Asmodemon whipping one of his tendrils at him. All Justimon could do was try to block the attack with his cybernetic arm, but when the tendril hit it just drilled right through and continued on to pierce his left shoulder. Justimon cried out in pain as Asmodemon withdrew his tendril with a gleeful glow in his eye.

"Listen to me," said Gennai.

"Alright, alright. I'm listening," said Narias.

"I have something that can help you fight," said Gennai. "I didn't want to give it up for the longest time, and I'd hoped to hold onto it for as long as I could. There's no choice now, though. If we want a chance to stop Asmodemon here and now, I have to give it up." Gennai held out his broken katana to Narias. "Take it," he said.

Narias accepted the broken weapon with some suspicion. "What exactly do you expect me to do with a broken sword?"

"It broke because its use to me is at an end," said Gennai. Then he smiled. "And it's not a sword."

Narias looked at the weapon in his hands. It started to shine white, then the broken pieces joined together and changed shape entirely, transforming into a heavy, spheroid. As the glow faded, Narias beheld a gray, metal object with curious designs on its surface including two recessed black triangles on either side of a vaguely familiar emblem engraved on the front, and a long, curved blade rising up the back. The whole thing fit awkwardly in his cupped hands and was shaped like an egg of all things. "What is it?" he asked.

"This is the Digiegg of Honor," Gennai told him.

Suddenly Narias felt all of his skin tingling like electricity was shooting through his whole body. His hair stood on end and his fingers seized tight around the digiegg. Suddenly it was no longer the egg that was glowing, but instead it was him.

Again, Asmodemon hovered over Justimon. Justimon rolled out of the way of a series of thrusts from Asmodemon's wings that tore into the ground in rapid succession. "I smell the fear in you," Asmodemon said, taking a moment to taunt his prey. "It's more pungent than I would expect."

Justimon kicked Asmodemon's wings away and rolled forward under the demon. He used his Thunder Clap on Asmodemon's exposed back, sending rolling shockwaves over his body, though aside from a little smoke, Asmodemon showed no signs of damage and Justimon was forced to retreat to a safe distance. "I guess I can't blame you for being wrong about that, what with you not having a nose and all," Justimon said as he caught his breath.

"You hide your fear as well as can be expected," said Asmodemon. "Human or digimon, though, I can see your every emotion. It's a…gift, we'll call it."

"Oh I've got a gift for you," said Justimon as his right arm transformed again. "Happy birthday, Destroyer! Justice Barrage!" Justimon fired a string of blue energy bursts at Asmodemon. Each shot exploded on impact with the beast, and Justimon finally broke off after a full eight seconds of rapid, sustained fire if for no other reason than to let the smoke clear. Much to Justimon's dismay—though not surprise—Asmodemon was as unfazed by this as by any of his attacks.

"Your every attack tells me of your panic," Asmodemon said mockingly. "What could have you worked up into such a state? Usually when my prey realize they're about to die they seem almost accepting of it, but you're different, aren't you? Yes, you don't just realize you're about to die, do you? No, you _know _it."

Justimon shifted his footing slightly, almost seeming to let his feet decide whether to attack or withdraw.

Asmodemon cackled. "Yes, that's it, isn't it? Oh that's a kind of fear I had almost forgotten. Someone went and spoiled your future for you, didn't they? And now that prediction is coming true."

"So what if I do die here?" asked Justimon. "Death isn't that far off for you, you know. I saw Lucemon stop your attack in the digital world. Even you can't fight that kind of power."

"Ah, so that was Lucemon's doing, was it?" asked Asmodemon. "Here I'd thought the hermit had thrown in the towel."

"If you think I'm giving up, you're way off," said Justimon. "If anything, my fear is just going to make me fight harder."

"There is no escaping your destiny," said Asmodemon. "Make it easy on yourself and surrender to your death."

Ryo smirked inside Justimon. "You can't read me as well as you think you can. If you could you'd know I never take the easy path."

"Thunder Clap!" Justimon shouted as he charged again.

WarriorSetomon looked himself up and down. "What happened?" he asked as he admired his restored digimon form. "I'm me again."

"That's just the start of the digiegg's usefulness," Gennai explained. "Now listen carefully. In order to use the digiegg's true power, you have to open it."

"I'm on it," WarriorSetomon said as he held the digiegg in one hand and brandished his sword in the other. "Here I come, Asmodemon!" he roared as he leapt into the fray.

"WarriorSetomon, wait!" Gennai shouted. "You don't know how…"

"Nine Circles!" Asmodemon shouted with a loud laugh. He held his hand out, palm up, and from it the red, swirling mist that filled his body flowed out. The mist swirled around him violently, bolts of electricity shooting out of it at random. The mist then condensed into nine spheres that began orbiting Asmodemon.

"Justice Barrage!" Justimon shouted, firing on Asmodemon again.

"Second Circle: Storm!" said Asmodemon as he sliced through one of the spheres with his claws. The circle immediately erupted and out of it burst and incredible wind the likes of which Justimon had never felt. All the shots he fired were immediately blown back at him, and when they hit him and exploded he lost his tenuous footing and was thrown back. Glass rained down from him on all sides as the gale tore through the windows of the nearby buildings; cars were picked up and tossed about. Finally, Justimon was driven three rooms deep into a building before he came to a rest and the winds subsided. Asmodemon only laughed.

WarriorSetomon saw his chance. He came crashing down on Asmodemon with his blade to the beast's exposed back. Unlike WarriorSetomon's previous attacks on Asmodemon though, this one proved to be as effective as any of Justimon's. His blade merely bounced off and Asmodemon, hardly seeming to take notice, batted WarriorSetomon away with one of his wings. As trivial as the gesture seemed to Asmodemon, WarriorSetomon was thrown a good distance. When he landed and shook his head clear, he realized he was no longer holding the digiegg.

Justimon shot from the building like a missile. "Voltage Blade!" he shouted as he launched himself, right arm outstretched, right toward Asmodemon's chest. Once he was in range though, Asmodemon slapped him down with his right claw before the blade could even hit Asmodemon's chest.

"Seventh Circle: Blood," Asmodemon said calmly as he curled his index finger in against his thumb and held it up to another of his spheres. He flicked the glowing orb and it shot out into Justimon, who was still lying on the ground. As soon as it struck Justimon, he was thrown through the air again, screaming in pain, as a spray of blood followed behind him.

Justimon landed in WarriorSetomon's waiting arms, though the force of his landing flattened them both.

"You alright?" WarriorSetomon asked.

Justimon coughed and shuddered, looking down at the dozens of new cuts that covered his body.

"Get up, Justimon. We can do this."

Justimon groaned as he slowly sat up again. "Yeah, you're right," he said, obviously in a lot of pain.

"He's gotten a lot stronger than the last time I fought him," said WarriorSetomon. "I can't even cut him now; he's built like a tank."

"No, he's vulnerable," Justimon said as he got up on one knee. "It's just for a second, but he is. He keeps shifting his data around. When he attacks he—urgh!"

"Easy now," said WarriorSetomon, keeping an eye on Asmodemon's leisurely approach.

"When he's defending he can't be hurt," Justimon said as he tried to gather himself. "But at the same time, he hardly moves at all. It's like he shifts his speed and attack power to strengthening his body."

"That must be what Gennai was talking about," said WarriorSetomon. "He can change his own body around however he wants."

"Right," said Justimon. "I'm pretty sure that it means he can't attack at all or even hardly move when he's defending. Hopefully, that means when he's attacking he doesn't have anything left to defend with, and that's when we need to hit him. The only problem is the timing is almost impossible to get right."

"Not with two of us," said WarriorSetomon.

"Just what I was thinking. We'll need to stagger our attacks. When he goes for one of us, the other moves in for the kill. Sound good?"

WarriorSetomon smiled. "I love it."

"What does this world mean to you, Millenniumon?" Asmodemon called out. "These are not your people. They will never be of any use to you. Why do you want to die for them?"

Justimon slowly stood up again. "This is going to take a lot of teamwork," he whispered to WarriorSetomon. "Honestly, I'd prefer to try this with somebody I knew better."

"That makes two of us," WarriorSetomon replied.

"Well?" Asmodemon shouted. "Can't think of a single reason why you should do this?"

"Stopping you is reason enough!" Justimon shot back.

"Why is that?" Asmodemon went on. "You hardly even know me."

"I know your kind. No matter how many times I have to save your world and you with it, there's always someone else coming along to mess things up. You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"That attitude of yours is what makes you so dangerous," Asmodemon hissed. "Our world does not seek your salvation. We crave annihilation. Our goal is now and always has been self-destruction." At this remark he chuckled a bit. "I suppose that above all else is the greatest commonality we have with you humans."

"If you're so eager to die, then let me make your dream come true already!"

"Wait for him to make his move," WarriorSetomon whispered. "If we go in first he's not going to let up on his defenses."

Asmodemon cackled. "I'm afraid I simply cannot do that just yet. You see, I still have a purpose to fulfill. I must do all that is within my considerable power to destroy life wherever it flourishes. My mission is one of mercy: to end the suffering of all worlds, permanently."

"The only one who's going to suffer is you," Justimon shouted back with anger in his voice.

"To live is to suffer! It is the greatest disease to ever afflict the cosmos! Even I suffer from this affliction. My wretched body screams at me in constant agony; my thoughts are as daggers in my mind; my every memory is a curse that I would be better off purged of! These things are the curse of the living! I will be rid of them, as shall you all!"

All four of Asmodemon's tendrils shot out, two at each of his opponents. WarriorSetomon and Justimon let the deadly whips get as close as they could before stepping to the side.

"Flint Edge!"

"Voltage Blade!"

A ribbon of flame wrapped up the edge of WarriorSetomon's sword and Justimon's blade crackled with electricity. The tips of Asmodemon's tendrils writhed on the ground, freshly separated from his body. Asmodemon seemed unnerved for a moment, but then appeared to relaxed.

"Circle in on him," Justimon whispered. "It's not over yet."

As Justimon and WarriorSetomon slowly crept their way toward Asmodemon, the demon once again spoke to them. "You know I am right. You know that your lives have brought you both immense suffering."

"You're forgetting about the good parts," said Justimon. "The happiness, the little joys of being alive."

"On the contrary, I remember them so vividly," said Asmodemon. "Once upon a time, I was so much more flesh than bone. The heat of the blood in my veins, the smell of fresh food; these memories haunt me now. You with your years of experience should know by now that even the happiness you experience will eventually become a source of pain. Given an eon locked away in the fingers of annihilation, even the simplest happiness—the sensation of clean air entering and exiting your lungs—can become an agony too gruesome to bear.

"Tell me, Ryo Akiyama." Asmodemon almost snickered at saying the name. "Tell me how painful it was to think back on your mother during all those years. Could you sleep at night if you had a dream about her? If you smelled something that reminded you of her cooking, how long would you spend recalling those fleeting pleasurable moments? How long would you brood on her absence if you even heard her name?

"And what about you, my son? Your life has been a brief one, but filled with so much suffering. Pain of all kinds has awaited you every day you awoke. How many bones have you broken? How many blades have pierced your young skin? How many times has your heart sunk into the pit of your stomach? Every time you think of Guilmon from now on, you will remember only his abandoning you. Or perhaps you will remember the monster he became, or how it was the one that you loved who slew him so heartlessly. Yes, SamuSetomon. You loved her. You still do. You surrendered your heart to her, but she never gave you hers. No, she always belonged to me. At my whim she befriended you, and by my whim she cast you aside."

"You shut up!" WarriorSetomon snarled.

Asmodemon turned back to Justimon. "Love is such a harsh thing, don't you think? You have so much more experience than the pup, here. You have felt it so many more times, and you know that it will always turn to hate."

"You're fooling yourself," said Justimon.

"Am I?" asked Asmodemon. "You hated your mother for leaving you. You hate your father for turning his back to you. You will hate Rika when she abandons you as well."

Justimon hesitated. "H-how do you know about them?"

"It took longer than I might have wanted, but I've done it now. I have pierced the veil of your minds. I can see all that you are, all that you know. I can see even the things that you would deny to yourselves even to your dying breaths. You know that Rika will not stand for your coming here. She both envies and resents you, and you know it. You do not want her to stay with you. You want to be abandoned again. You want to be alone. You never want to be hurt again. That, Ryo Akiyama, is why you seek annihilation. You want to end your suffering at all costs. That is why you should let me kill you."

"Don't listen to him, Justimon!" WarriorSetomon shouted.

"He has no choice, my son, and neither do you. I am already inside your head, just like I was back in my fortress. You were ready to kill to protect me. You have lived scarcely more than two months, my son. In time you will begin to realize what these humans can only begin to fathom. As your life stretches on into time immemorial, your every pleasure will bring only pain. You will have innumerable lifetimes to suffer through, and that may be only the beginning. These humans with their brief little lives will eventually pass into death whether they will it or not, but we have such long lives that eventually, all digimon choose to serve my cause. Do you understand now why I must do this?"

"Somehow, I don't think mass-murder is as altruistic as you make it sound," said Justimon.

Asmodemon sighed. "Whether you believe me or not is of no consequence. The fact is that I starting to get used to being unappreciated. You will die today regardless. In time, I too will be gifted with death and replaced by an even greater force, the likes of which you can scarcely begin to comprehend. I only need live long enough to ensure _his_ resurrection, and then my purpose will have been fulfilled."

"Who?" asked Justimon. "Who is it you're trying to revive."

"Be thankful you'll never find out." Asmodemon beckoned the severed tips of his tendrils to him. They flew from the ground right back to their rightful place on his body. "Let's end this. Sixth Circle: Pyre!"

Asmodemon cut another of his spheres and in doing so expelled a heavy chain bola that shot toward WarriorSetomon and wrapped around him. As it sealed itself around his body, pinning his arms to his side and dragging him down under its weight, the whole bola erupted in flames.

As Asmodemon attacked, Justimon instantly charged in to counter it, but he just wasn't fast enough. "Ninth Circle: Frost!" From this latest sphere an unnatural blast of cold air erupted. Not only did it knock Justimon back, but it was so cold that the air itself froze solid in its wake. As the blast expanded outward, great jutting spears of ice formed in front of it. Though Justimon was knocked back, he was unable to escape the freezing effects of the attack, and as he was surrounded by an icy fist, one of the spears grew right through his stomach.

Justimon's head slumped forward, being the only part he could move after the spread of the ice stopped. WarriorSetomon struggled against the trap that bound him, but it was quickly burning into his flesh, and proved both too heavy to lift and too tightly-sealed to break free from.

Asmodemon hovered over to Justimon quite calmly. He seemed to almost be admiring the ice crystal as though it were a snow flake. As he reached Justimon, he extended a claw and held up his prey's chin. "Any last remarks?"

Justimon stared at him in silence, much to Asmodemon's amusement. "No more words?" he chuckled. "Not so much as a whimper? A moan? I might have expected that from you, Millenniumon, but a human? It's amazing to know that I can still be surprised." Asmodemon let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh well. I suppose I will not get the satisfaction I wanted from killing you. However, I am quite eager to find out how Rika will endure. Do you think she will scream? Oh I do hope so. I'll bet she screams magnificently."

Justimon growled and tried to attack Asmodemon, but the pain in his abdomen caused him to shrink back.

Asmodemon did not chuckle this time. In fact he seemed almost sullen when he spoke. "Goodbye." He let Justimon's chin drop and he plunged his claws into the ice. He pierced Justimon's heart. Justimon shuddered and stopped moving.


	43. Desperation

Asmodemon flicked the blood from his claws and turned toward WarriorSetomon as Justimon's body decompiled, his data vanishing into thin air. WarriorSetomon shut his eyes tight, choking back an angry howl. Though the chains that bound him were wreathed in flames, WarriorSetomon still had the presence of mind to absorb them.

Asmodemon pressed the long blade of his wing to WarriorSetomon's chest. "I regret that I was forced to give you life, my son," he said. "It is a terrible burden, to live."

WarriorSetomon slowly opened his stinging eyes and looked up at Asmodemon defiantly. "Then why do I want to hold onto it for as long as I can?"

Asmodemon shook his head. "It is all you've ever known. You are afraid. I will take away your fear. I will relieve your suffering. Consider death to be my greatest gift to you."

WarriorSetomon strained against his bindings with all his might. Though they creaked and stretched almost imperceptibly, they held strong. "I want to live!" he shouted. He roared at the top of his lungs and wore his muscles out testing the strength of his arms against his restraints.

As WarriorSetomon's voice and resolve waned he slumped forward again. Asmodemon looked at him with a perplexed crook in his brow. "Why?"

WarriorSetomon leaned forward, panting and trying to catch his breath. He didn't know how much more he could absorb before the flames consumed him. Though his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse, he tried to explain himself. "I want to be afraid," he began. "I want suffering. I want the pain and the sadness and everything else that comes with life. If that's what it costs to have the good parts, then I want everything bad that life has to offer."

Asmodemon sighed. "You are so young yet, my son. It is better for you to die with that vitality intact."

"That's not your choice to make, Asmodemon. If you want to die so much, then go do it. Leave the rest of us to make the choice for ourselves!"

"As you should be realizing about now, there is no choice. This place we find ourselves in now is how the whole world works, my son. You have no choice but to accept death and I have no choice but to deliver it."

"That's not true. You can let me go. You can end this!"

Asmodemon shook his head. "No. I cannot. It goes against everything that I am. My desire to end your life is far exceeded by my curiosity as to what would happen should I defy that impulse, and so I will kill you."

"Fine," WarriorSetomon said, resigning himself. "Then at least let me do what I've been doing all along. Let me fight for my life with my own hands. If I'm going to die I'd rather do it fighting you than stuck here defenseless."

Asmodemon let out a short laugh. "Single combat, is it? An honorable duel. Though you forfeit your life, you intend to save your pride." Asmodemon's expression sank. "You have learned much from your master. I admit I do not approve of all of it, but I suppose your pride will outlive you, if only by a matter of minutes."

WarriorSetomon showed a toothy grin. "What do you say?"

Asmodemon narrowed his gaze. "So be it, my son. You will have your honorable death." Asmodemon lowered the tip of his wing from WarriorSetomon's chest to the chain. With a light tap the chain shattered and WarriorSetomon was freed.

WarriorSetomon shed his chains and immediately latched onto his sword and swung it wildly at Asmodemon's chest. Asmodemon deflected the attack with one of his wings though and then thrust it at WarriorSetomon. Luckily the smaller digimon was quick enough to hold the broad face of his sword in the way and the great bone glanced off it, though not without leaving a deep scratch in the blade. Asmodemon was already attacking again though, stretching out his terrible grasping claws to cleave right through his son, but WarriorSetomon knew on some level that the attack was coming and he grabbed Asmodemon's wrist and pushed the hand out of the way. Though he knew he couldn't really hold Asmodemon back with the difference in their physical strength, it bought him enough time to thrust his sword into Asmodemon's chest cavity.

Asmodemon scowled, rent his hand from WarriorSetomon's grip and batted him away like an irritating bug. WarriorSetomon landed flat on his back several yards away, and in the second or so it took him to open his eyes again, Asmodemon was already hovering over him, tendrils whipping around in every direction, wings clicking and twitching with anticipation. In a desperate move, WarriorSetomon slashed his sword at Asmodemon's exposed neck, which was still one of the thinnest parts of his body. The ringing of metal and the ache in his arm was all he needed to tell him that even those seemingly frail bones would not allow him a chance at scoring a serious hit.

Asmodemon stared into WarriorSetomon's eyes. "Your master never taught you the right way to decapitate your enemy, did he?" he asked in an almost amused tone. "Allow me to demonstrate!"

WarriorSetomon rolled to the side an instant before one of the tendrils lashed out and sliced through the ground where his neck had been. He stopped rolling just in time to keep from being speared by Asmodemon's left wing as it punched through the ground in front of him. WarriorSetomon couldn't even focus as a flurry of claws and tendrils and wings flew at him. He simply dodged, rolled and scrambled with his bare instinct for survival. Though his reflexes were amazing for any digimon, he was still being torn up as deeper and deeper cuts raked up and down his body. It was only by spying a singular opening and making a mad dash for it that WarriorSetomon escaped, crawling underneath Asmodemon and leaping over the tendril that lashed back at him.

Asmodemon fell to one knee and supported himself on his sword as Asmodemon turned around to face him. Blood and sweat were mixing together in his left eye, and though he tried to wipe them away there was always more and for the time being he had to keep one eye closed. He needed a plan; some way to actually hurt Asmodemon. He knew he could never pull off Justimon's plan on his own; he simply wasn't fast enough to attack and defend against Asmodemon's attacks simultaneously. The few hits he had managed to make had done more damage to his own sword than they had to the Destroyer.

"Stay focused on the fight!" Asmodemon said in a booming voice. "This is one of my few remaining pleasures, and it will be the last pleasure you ever have." He extended his right claw in a grand, swooping gesture and shattered another of his spheres. "Third Circle: Hail!"

The scattering bits of data from the broken sphere did not disappear, but instead began to grow, turning cold shades of white and blue. In a few seconds there were thousands of them, each only the size of a sliver, but still a perfect dagger of ice. Asmodemon let his hand fall and the hail was released like a shotgun blast.

WarriorSetomon saw the glistening fragments of ice flying towards him, but there was little he could do. He tried to roll out of the way, but with how the ice scattered there was no escape. He planted his sword in front of himself and hid his face behind it, hoping it would deflect at least some of the shards.

For an instant, WarriorSetomon felt a wave of cold pass over him, and then nothing. For one of the longest moments of his life, he felt completely numb, and then blood sprayed from every part of his body as even the smallest bits of glass shattered on both sides of the street. The cars that had been tossed around by the battle were now utterly shredded; their tires exploded as the hail passed though them. The asphalt road and the cement of the sidewalks and buildings all showed tiny pockmarks where the shards of ice had sliced right through them. Even the solid metal of WarriorSetomon's sword was now covered in marks where Asmodemon's attack had torn right through it.

Thankfully, with the attack covering such a wide space, WarriorSetomon was not hit by as many of the shards as he could have been. Though he slumped forward against his sword, both knees now touching the ground, he was not ready to give up. He looked at his hands, which were now balled into fists as he tried to endure the pain. They were both soaked in blood. Though he could tell he hadn't severed any major nerves because he could still feel and move his arms and legs, he felt a number of serious pains in his chest. He knew the attack had badly damaged to at least two of his major organs, one being his right lung as he found himself increasingly short of breath and the other being something lower, but exactly what it was he wasn't sure. If he was to do anything to stop Asmodemon, he would have to do it before his body gave out on him.

What could he do, though? Even if he could somehow harm Asmodemon's body it wouldn't make a difference. He would just regenerate the damage like he'd done back in the Hall of the Void Soul. No, there was no way for WarriorSetomon to hurt Asmodemon's body.

A red glint caught WarriorSetomon's eye then. It was the catalyst crystal once again hanging from around Asmodemon's neck. He remembered seeing Asmodemon use it to cross over to the human world from the digital world. If that was the only way Asmodemon could cross over, then destroying it would leave Asmodemon stuck in the human world.

WarriorSetomon knew it was far from a perfect solution, but he also knew that he was about to die. He still wanted his life to mean something in the end, and by stranding Asmodemon here he could accomplish that. He pulled himself up onto the hilt of his sword and prepared to make his final charge.

Without warning a brilliant flash of light shattered the ice that had become Justimon's tomb. Shards of ice were sent flying in every direction, even striking Asmodemon in the head and knocking WarriorSetomon over onto his backside.

As the brilliant light quickly began to fade it was replaced by a dark void that immediately started consuming everything around it. First it was the icy prison, then the broken glass and assorted rubble scattered by the fight, and then whole cars, broken street lights, anything that wasn't nailed down. WarriorSetomon watched the growing void awestruck. Even with his clouded vision he could see a form at its core. It seemed to be a large, floating crystal of some sort with a dark figure coiled up inside it.

As more and more debris fell into the crystal, the shadowy creature nesting within it grew larger and larger until it was pressed against every wall that surrounded it. Still it grew larger, until ultimately the crystal cracked and shattered. As the creature set its feet to the asphalt even the crystal was absorbed into its body.

The darkness and the all-consuming vacuum slowly faded, leaving only the creature. It looked a great deal like Justimon in terms of its size and shape, but at the same time it seemed wholly different. His helmet was now translucent, and a pair of glowing, purple eyes shown out from within; it was also open in the back, letting a tuft of spiked brown hair stick out. His body was now almost entirely one color, though it shifted between indigo and shades of purple, blue and gray. In fact his body didn't look stable at all; the edges seemed to blur back and forth and left trail wherever it moved. Justimon's scarf clung around the creature's neck, and though it remained bright red, it blew in the wind on a still day. Even more unnerving, it seemed like the fabric itself, if it could even rightly be called fabric, literally flowed like water out from where it was wrapped around him to the ends, where the scarf did not end, but rather seemed to dematerialize, particles of it streaming off into the air before vanishing. Most striking of all were the fractal codes orbiting his chest. There were three of them, one horizontal and two on a diagonal with his waist and neck sticking through the openings on the vertical. The rapidly-spinning codes seemed almost to lend his body some kind of stability considering the state of flux his extremities were in and the relative calmness of the center of his body.

All eyes stared at the new digimon, none knowing what he was or what to make of him, but with both a sense of awe and fear. Of all the onlookers, Gennai perhaps had the greatest sense of worry over the digimon he beheld.

Asmodemon snarled at the new digimon. "Where do these pests keep coming from? It seems like every time I swat one down another one stands up to fight!"

The digimon remained motionless, just staring at Asmodemon with those haunting, violet eyes.

"Justimon?" WarriorSetomon asked after a moment. "Justimon, is that you?"

The digimon did not answer. It didn't even glance in WarriorSetomon's direction. It did take a step forward though, and when it did the concrete beneath its footfall cracked and splintered like a dry leaf.

Asmodemon sighed anxiously. "My son, I'm afraid I must put our 'duel' to an end now. You have delayed me long enough and this interruption will only prove a further annoyance. Goodbye." Asmodemon launched all four tendrils at WarriorSetomon, who could do nothing but wince and look away.

The tendrils did not hit WarriorSetomon though. Instead they were stopped several feet in front of him, impacting on the newcomer's right arm, which he held in front of him like a shield. No one had even seen him move into the attack's path, much less suspected that even such a deadly attack wouldn't so much as faze him.

Asmodemon looked into those piercing eyes once more. They focused on nothing but him. It was not even his body that they looked at, but Asmodemon himself. Suddenly the newcomer grasped all four of Asmodemon's tendrils with his right hand. The writhing, razor-sharp bones didn't seem to bother the newcomer at all. Then like a puff of smoke, every bone within a meter of where the newcomer held turned to ash and exploded off of Asmodemon's tendrils. Asmodemon quickly withdrew his appendages and reformed the severed stumps into new pointed tips, even as he watched the precious data he had left behind being absorbed into the new digimon's body.

Though Asmodemon was awash with anger, he took a moment to refocus himself before speaking. "An interesting new opponent to be sure. Virus type, I believe, and evolved even beyond the mega level. I must admit even I have never seen a digimon quite like you."

"What's the matter?" the newcomer asked in a deep, resonant voice. "Don't you recognize me anymore?"

"Ah, so it finally speaks," Asmodemon condescended. "I'd hate to encounter such a powerful opponent to find out that it is a mere mindless beast."

"You should know by now that I can never die, Asmodemon."

Asmodemon chuckled to himself. "Why Millenniumon, is that you again? I knew that such power lurked within you. I admit I had hoped to kill both the human and you with that attack, but this will have to do. I should have known that getting rid of him would unleash your true potential."

The newcomer shook his head. "Asmodemon, you could not be more wrong."

"Is that so?" Asmodemon asked with a loud laugh.

"Ryo and Millenniumon are both dead now, Asmodemon. That was your doing. I am the consequence of that action."

"Why don't you act like a good little puppet for once and get out of my way? I have a job to do here."

"By destroying them, you created a void, Asmodemon."

"I've heard enough from you for a lifetime, Millenniumon. Havoc Strike!" In the blink of an eye, Asmodemon was on top of the newcomer. All eight of his deadly appendages attacked at once, each from a different angle. Before a single strike could land though, Asmodemon was thrown back by an immensely powerful punch to the center of his chest. He let out a terrible shriek as he plowed backwards through the asphalt and scattered debris. Once Asmodemon finally came to a stop he clasped his chest, looking down in horror at the data of his ribcage destabilizing right before his very eyes.

"I am that void, Asmodemon, "the newcomer continued. "I am the justice you must face for your crimes. I am ZeedJustimon."

"You are nothing!" the Destroyer coughed out. "No matter how strong you might imagine yourself to be, you can never stop me!"

"Your powers have made you arrogant," said ZeedJustimon. "Your eyes can no longer see through me, but mine can finally see you. That hollow shell of a body is more your puppet than it is you."

Asmodemon rose up again, reasserting control over his own data and stabilizing his body. "It has been so long since anyone has seen beyond my crude matter and witnessed my true form, whelp. Of course it is one thing to see me, and an entirely different thing to do something about it."

"You are still a digimon. No matter what form it takes, you are still made of data, Destroyer."

Asmodemon lifted his shoulders and spread his wings proudly. "I think you will find me taking full advantage of that fact."

"As will I, Asmodemon," said Justimon. "Like you, I specialize in dealing with data. While you change it though, I can destroy it."

"I'd like to see you try destroying mine!"

"With pleasure." ZeedJustimon kicked off the ground and hurled himself at Asmodemon. He plowed right into the much larger digimon's chest and continued to push him for well over a city block before Asmodemon was able to knock him off.

WarriorSetomon fell forward onto his hands and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He could feel himself getting weaker by the minute. His breath wheezed in and out unevenly. The pain in his chest and abdomen was so intense he could hardly think.

"WarriorSetomon!" Gennai shouted as he finally came to the digimon's side. "Asmodemon is distracted for now, but there's no telling how long this will last. You must use the digiegg!"

"Can't…I….lost…" WarriorSetomon let out a nasty cough.

The DigiDestined joined the pair a second later after making sure the coast was clear.

"It looks to me like ZeedJustimon has things under control," said Matt.

Gennai shook his head. "Even if he can overpower Asmodemon, I don't like the looks of this. That digimon up there is evil and out of control."

"But that's Ryo, isn't it?" asked Ken.

"Not anymore," said Gennai, "which is exactly why we need to get that digiegg back."

WarriorSetomon coughed again. "Dying…" was all he could say.

Gennai took a few moments to look over some of WarriorSetomon's nastier wounds. "You're right," he said. "That's exactly why we need to do this. The only hope for you now is to digivolve. It will save your life, and you might end up saving the rest of us."

WarriorSetomon nodded quickly as he doubled over in pain. Gennai quickly turned to the DigiDestined gathered around him. "We don't have long," he said. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to keep WarriorSetomon going a little longer, but the rest of you have to find that digiegg!"

"Don't worry, Gennai," said Tai. "We're on it."

Asmodemon attacked wildly, swinging his tendrils out wide in every direction, slicing through buildings, street lamps, vehicles, the street, anything and everything in his attempt to hit his target, but ZeedJustimon moved around so fast it was like he could teleport instantly from one place to another. Asmodemon's tendrils never even got close before ZeedJustimon appeared in front of the Destroyer and dropped his heel onto Asmodemon's shoulder. Asmodemon collapsed to the ground, the bones in his shoulder shattered and hemorrhaging data.

Asmodemon held himself up with his left hand and gripped his shoulder with his right. After a moment he looked up at ZeedJustimon. "There are always limits, you know."

ZeedJustimon stood over Asmodemon, looking down on him with contempt. "You have reached yours."

"No, not yet. Before I ever do, I will discover what yours are, and I will break you."

"You cannot overpower me, Asmodemon. Not anymore."

"No, I suppose not. Even in my Crisis Mode, you've surpassed me. Still, you have no way to win this day."

"I'll consider killing you to be a victory."

Asmodemon snickered. "Not even you can kill what's already dead. Fourth Circle: Gravity!"

Asmodemon broke one of his remaining spheres in a flash. ZeedJustimon moved to attack, but he'd been caught off guard. Suddenly his whole body felt heavy, incredibly heavy. He fell to the ground face-first, cracking the street beneath him. Though he tried to lift his head it felt like his whole body was pinned to the ground.

Asmodemon began hovering again, a smug expression on his face. His broken bones reset himself and the flow of data coming off him halted. "You see?" he asked. "Some things cannot be overcome by mere strength." The ground around ZeedJustimon sunk several inches, the cracks in the road spreading out further in every direction. "You were nothing, Millenniumon. You, Daemon and Apocalymon were never meant to be more than a distraction so that we could continue our work uninterrupted. At least they never betrayed their purpose. Your love for that human…it's really quite disgusting."

WarriorSetomon was struck by another coughing fit. The DigiDestined combed the area in search of the digiegg, but time was running short. Gennai's robes were already covered in WarriorSetomon's blood. "Stay with me WarriorSetomon. Keep your eyes open and focus on me. You can do this," he said.

WarriorSetomon's eyes were barely open, and they drifted off toward the sky when they could. Once his coughing was over his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth and his whole body felt like it was shaking. He couldn't even get enough breath to speak anymore.

"WarriorSetomon, we need you," Gennai continued. "You are important not just for today, but for the future. That is your destiny, not this." He shook WarriorSetomon's head to get his attention. "You've proven what's in your heart. You, WarriorSetomon, are the hope for our world's future. My old partner, Bahadramon, saw that in you. That's why he trained you. Whether he knew it or not, he knew the age of the old Guardians was coming to an end. He knew the crest of honor needed a new champion. You're the one, WarriorSetomon. Our powers will be yours, but not if you give up. Not if you let yourself die here."

WarriorSetomon nodded weakly, but his breathing was still slowing to a stop. His eyes closed and his mouth hung open. Gennai knew that if WarriorSetomon were to die in the human world, then his data would be lost forever. Whatever the outcome of the fight between ZeedJustimon and Asmodemon, he couldn't let WarriorSetomon die, so he rolled back both of his sleeves and placed his hands on WarriorSetomon's temples. A silver glow surrounded the pair.

"You're wrong, Asmodemon," ZeedJustimon snarled as he forced himself up onto his hands and knees. "You're the disgusting one." In a show of immense strength, ZeedJustimon stood again at his full height, despite being under the full power of Asmodemon's attack. Even with the incredible weight of his own body holding him back, ZeedJustimon took a step forward, then another and another. Asmodemon could only back away, stunned that ZeedJustimon could even move, much less stand and walk. "I'm going to put an end to you once and for all, Asmodemon," ZeedJustimon went on, balling his hands into fists. "Entropic Aura!"

Asmodemon shielded his face with his claws, but it did him no good. A wave of sizzling energy blossomed around ZeedJustimon, expanding outward roughly twenty yards in every direction before dissipating. Asmodemon barely even felt it hit him, but after a few bewildered seconds he became acutely aware of its effects. He looked at his arms as his dried skin began to flake off. Data began to pour off him from every exposed surface. Even the red mist that filled his body slowly began to dissipate. "What have you done?!" he demanded in a fearsome voice.

"I've done to you what you tried to do to me," said ZeedJustimon. "The same thing you've done to more digimon than I can count. No matter what happens now, you will continue to degrade until there is nothing left of you but the memory of your evil."

Asmodemon looked down on his body, snarling and curling his claws. After a few moments he fixed his gaze on ZeedJustimon. "You little monster. Who do you think you are to defy destiny? How dare you go on living when you were meant to die? How dare you harm the Destroyer?! You are nothing! Eighth Circle: Ten Torments!"

"Chrono Breaker!"

ZeedJustimon made his move before Asmodemon could unleash the power of his eighth sphere. The energies holding ZeedJustimon under the effect of Asmodemon's last attack were broken and sent scattering wildly as white, glowing shards which not only cleaved through the glass, concrete and asphalt of the surrounding terrain, but also cracked open Asmodemon's skull when a stray shard caught him by surprised. A pulse of violet energy fired from ZeedJustimon's right arm, encircled Asmodemon, and passed through the remaining spheres, dispelling them before exploding in Asmodemon's face.

ZeedJustimon stood and stared into the billowing cloud of smoke rising from the crater left by his attack. Asmodemon was still in there somewhere, plotting, waiting for just the right moment. ZeedJustimon knew better than to underestimate such a dangerous digimon. He would have to end it now while he still had the upper hand.

ZeedJustimon stepped to the side the instant he saw the tendrils come shooting out of the black cloud. They lashed at him one after another instead of all at once, keeping him moving though still in control. They carved through stone as easily as air, each swipe drawing closer to his body. Even knowing his own power, ZeedJustimon much preferred to dodge Asmodemon's attacks rather than trying his luck at deflecting them. Besides, his speed was more than enough to handle the situation now, even with the tendrils' incredible speed.

Suddenly, ZeedJustimon found himself backed up against a concrete wall and all four tendrils moved in for the kill. "Quantum Claw," he said, instantly transforming his right arm into a monstrous mass of long, terrible fingers more suited to a bat than a humanoid. With one swift slap he knocked all four tendrils away and sent debris flying back toward the smoking crater. He returned his arm back to its proper state and watched Asmodemon's tendrils disintegrating back to their roots. As the blast of air from his attack reached the crater and the smoke was blow away though, ZeedJustimon realized his mistake. The four tendrils were protruding from a pit leading deep underground. He didn't even have time to turn before Asmodemon smashed through the building behind him, seized his arms with both hands and shoved both of his deadly wings right through ZeedJustimon's torso.

It was the strangest thing. Though Asmodemon ran ZeedJustimon right through, it was as if the smaller digimon's body moved right around the attack rather than be pierced by it. In fact the only solid thing Asmodemon felt himself make contact with was the middle fractal code, which his wing glanced against. The impact shattered it, and a moment after the code disappeared ZeedJustimon's eyes turned burning white and a surge of power exploded from his body, not only throwing Asmodemon back through the building and far down the road but tearing apart everything within fifty feet of ZeedJustimon before absorbing it all into his body and leaving a large, spherical void all around him.

ZeedJustimon hovered a second, the only noises coming from the collapse of rooms now half-gone and the falling debris from within. Sewage pipes with sections now missing began filling the crater beneath ZeedJustimon. Slowly he turned around to look at Asmodemon, his eyes white, crackling with energy. Far from how any lesser digimon would have reacted, Asmodemon seemed almost pleased at the sight.

"I feel you now…" he mused, half to himself. "You are still in there, Millenniumon. All that power, and more importantly the anger. So much hatred."

ZeedJustimon shot through the air like a rocket, stopping mere feet in front of Asmodemon, hovering high enough to go eye-to-eye with him. "You shouldn't have done that," he said.

"I had to," said Asmodemon. "I see now what you just may be capable of. I will break your seals, and when I do your true self will be released."

"In such a hurry to die?"

"Your power will grow without a doubt," Asmodemon said in a wicked tone. "So will your rage. Even now I can sense your rational mind is just barely hanging on."

"You're imagining things."

"You're losing control, dog," Asmodemon snickered. "You're losing what little remains of your human mind."

"And you're losing your body," ZeedJustimon said smugly.

Asmodemon quickly glanced at his body as it continued to disintegrate. He quickly grabbed the crystal hanging of his neck. It glowed red, and as it did so his dwindling data was quickly replenished. "I will endure longer than you will. Besides, whether it's I who does it or you, this world and a dozen others will die by the day's end."

"I will never turn against my friends."

"No mind can handle the powers you wield, even if you do have two or three minds in there. Soon the lives of a few humans will be meaningless to you. You will need to kill whole worlds for their data to keep yourself from spinning apart."

"The only one getting killed here is you, Asmodemon."

Asmodemon cackled. "You mean you didn't feel it? This day is already stained with blood. Since we've begun our fight here, twelve humans have already died."

ZeedJustimon recoiled. "What?"

"Collateral damage, I believe the term is. Another thirty or so are injured. Do not think you can't take human life. You already have."

"You're trying to trick me!"

"There's no need to. Of course at this rate, I will continue to break your seals until your own powers consume you, and then how many human lives will be lost? Billions on this earth alone. Then you will move onto the next, and the next, and the next again. You will devour everyone you care about, everyone you love, everyone you hate, and even everyone you've never even met. I must admit even I am impressed. Here I was only planning on destroying a single human city today, but you have made things far more interesting. Thank you."

"Enough!" ZeedJustimon roared as his right arm transformed into a long, edged weapon. "Quantum Blade!"

TK wiped the sweat from his brow. He was doing their best, just like everyone else, but with all the debris scattered around it was impossible to know where to look. "Come on, where is it? It has to be here somewhere." Just then a strange light caught his eye from a small, dark alleyway. It was so secluded he hadn't noticed the light before then, but once he saw it he ran right for it. Of course it wasn't until he got there that he saw just what the light was coming from.

"What are you?" he asked the small, glowing, golden-skinned creature that sat there with a big smile on its face. The creature didn't answer of course, but when TK saw the familiar white hat on its head, he immediately recognized it. "It's you again. You're that digignome, right?"

At this sign of recognition the digignome smiled and nodded.

"I don't get it," said TK. "I thought you were dead. What are you doing here?" The digignome cooed and stepped to the side, revealing the Digiegg of Honor. TK's face lit up and he reached out and grabbed the digiegg. "Thanks!" he said with a little laugh. "I guess I'll have to take this as payment for the hat." The digignome was already airborne again, and in another second TK was running back to Gennai and WarriorSetomon.

Asmodemon did his best to keep his distance from ZeedJustimon's swift and terrible attacks, dodging from rooftop to rooftop, but his opponent was just so fast. His only real recourse would be to somehow counter ZeedJustimon's overwhelming power.

"I'll kill you!" ZeedJustimon shouted as he cleaved through a rooftop water tank, spraying both digimon and everything else with a fine mist.

While ZeedJustimon was dealing with the flying scraps of metal in his way, Asmodemon quickly dug his wings into the roof beneath him and tossed a section of it up in ZeedJustimon's path. ZeedJustimon naturally sliced through it as easily as he had the water tank, but when he came through the other side amidst the flying bits of tar, he found Asmodemon had disappeared behind the roofing. Indeed, Asmodemon had used it to camouflage his movement, flying up and over while ZeedJustimon was distracted, and he took the opportunity to lash at ZeedJustimon's back with his tendrils. He missed the fractal codes, but just barely. Still, it was enough for Asmodemon to have a good laugh over.

"You may be fast, worm, but nobody will ever accuse you of being smart at this rate," he said, looking down on ZeedJustimon from overhead.

ZeedJustimon returned his right arm to its normal form and balled up his fists. "I hope you remember every taunt you've thrown at me when I tear you in half."

"Sounds to me like you've got quite the little violent streak building up, hmm? Let's see if we can't get you to open up even more."

"I'll open you up!"

ZeedJustimon shot up at Asmodemon like he was fired from a cannon, and from the crater he left where he took off from it looked like he just might have been. His right arm was outstretched, his fist ready to plow right through Asmodemon's skull, but then he came to a jarring stop mere inches from impact. He was stunned for a moment, then looked down to see Asmodemon's wing. The evil digimon had driven it through his own back and into ZeedJustimon. He had set a trap, and only had to wait for ZeedJustimon to grow impatient to spring it. The wing pierced right through the second fractal code, breaking it. Asmodemon quickly withdrew in anticipation of the surge of power.

"Gennai! I have it!" TK shouted as he ran up to the pair, finding that WarriorSetomon was suddenly well enough to sit up on his knees. He was still in obvious pain and he looked weak, but he wasn't on death's door any longer. Gennai, on the other hand, had practically collapsed. His face was completely drained and he reclined against a convenient garbage can.

"Good," Gennai said with a cough. "WarriorSetomon, take the egg. You have to open it."

TK handed the egg over to WarriorSetomon before turning to Gennai. "Are you alright?" he asked the Guardian.

"If this doesn't work, how I feel won't matter very much, will it?" Gennai asked with a weak smile.

WarriorSetomon tried banging the digiegg on the ground a few times, and then he gave stepping on it a shot. Neither proved terribly effective.

"What did you do? You look terrible," said TK.

"I did what I had to do, my boy," said Gennai.

WarriorSetomon finally tried sticking the digiegg in the side of his mouth and gnawing on it. "Ith not wuhkin!" he shouted.

Gennai sighed and shook his head. "Just hold it out and repeat after me."

ZeedJustimon knew what was coming. He wrapped his arms around his chest to try holding his powers in, but there was little he could do to stop it. His will to resist the powers coursing through him was quickly waning. The skies overhead filled with swirling black clouds, followed shortly by hurricane-force winds and lightning which shot both from the clouds and from ZeedJustimon's body itself. Finally the clouds parted in the center, revealing a gaping hole between the worlds.

"Beautiful," Asmodemon said as he looked up. "The barrier is already disappearing from your mere existence, child."

ZeedJustimon slowly opened his now pitch-black eyes and glared at Asmodemon. He didn't say a word; he only growled.

"I always dreamed of orchestrating the death of a world, you know," Asmodemon said snidely. "I suppose I should thank you for making my dream come true, 'legendary tamer.'"

ZeedJustimon returned his arms to his sides, electricity coiling around them as he did so. The ground below began to shake, causing more of the already damaged buildings to shudder and collapse.

"You have no idea what a rare joy this is for me," Asmodemon went on. "The unbridled carnage of course is something I always adore, but knowing that you will kill everyone and everything you ever cared about is even more delectable I think."

ZeedJustimon let out an angry grunt. The heartbeat of the whole world seemed to skip when he did so, but Asmodemon still continued.

"If you want to know my favorite part about all of this, though, I will tell you. My life does not belong to you. No, my death is meant for the hands of another. After I break that final seal, I will have just long enough to leave this world before your fury destroys it. I will travel to realms where not even you can follow me. You would have been so much better off had you just stayed dead."

WarriorSetomon held the Digiegg of Honor high overhead in both hands. He stared up at it against the background of gathering storm clouds. It was now or never. "Digiarmor energize!" he roared.

"We have a date with destiny, you and I," said Asmodemon. "Let's not disappoint it this time. Havoc Strike!"

Asmodemon let out a piercing howl as he charged at ZeedJustimon, leaving a trail of spent data in his wake. All eight of his appendages focused on one target alone: the last fractal code circling ZeedJustimon's chest.

ZeedJustimon knew he could repel this attack and probably a thousand others, but what little remained of his rational mind knew that it would only take one connecting hit to bring about disaster. He also knew that he could destroy Asmodemon now, but doing so would take so much power that it would mean destroying half of the city in the process. Though ZeedJustimon almost enjoyed the idea, a small piece of him—the piece that was still human—could never allow such a thing.

With a single, sweeping blow, ZeedJustimon sliced through every one of Asmodemon's appendages. The demon let out a fearsome cry and recoiled to coddle his broken limbs. ZeedJustimon did not pursue, but instead looked down at his own body.

"Kill me if you can," Asmodemon hissed venomously, already drawing on the catalyst's power to regenerate his lost appendages. "You cannot stop what I have begun here. Whether it is I that unleashes your powers or your own greed and anger, there is no more running from fate. You will become an instrument of death."

ZeedJustimon looked on Asmodemon once more, an almost sad look in his eyes. "Never." The wind slowly began to die down and the lightning stopped striking. ZeedJustimon's body glowed faintly purple as the clouds overhead grouped together again, closing off the portal that had opened to the digital world. Asmodemon could only watch, hardly believing it, as scattered data from all around was slowly pulled into ZeedJustimon, until even ZeedJustimon's body itself seemed to recede into a smaller, humanoid frame. As the clouds dissipated and the sun returned, the last of ZeedJustimon disappeared into the body of Ryo Akiyama. With his powers gone, Ryo fell toward the street far below.

Suddenly a silver glow erupted from down the road and a thick, gray mist quickly filled the streets. A familiar voice echoed in Asmodemon's head, crying out, "WarriorSetomon armor digivolve to…!" Ryo continued to fall and disappeared into the thick fog, but he never hit the ground. Instead he found himself caught by something moving very fast. In only a few seconds he found himself being placed on the ground in front of a band of DigiDestined. Their faces were the last things he saw before passing out.

Stunned by what had just happened but not so much as to lose himself, Asmodemon quickly pursued Ryo into the fog. What he found there waiting to confront him was not the dark digimon god that he had hoped for, but rather his own son, the new bearer of the Digiegg of Honor.

"…Schakalmon."


	44. The Sword of Honor

Though he was hard to make out at first through the dense white fog, Schakalmon slowly came into Asmodemon's view. He was taller than before, almost as tall as Asmodemon, though he was also leaner than he had been. His tail was the same story: much thinner and a lot longer. The bushy red tuft of fur at the tip hovered even over Schakalmon's head when his tail stood up proudly. The precise structure of his body aside, Schakalmon still had WarriorSetomon's fur patterns: white belly and digits, red hair and tail tip, and of course the rest remained bright orange.

The most significant change as a result of his armor digivolution was, as one might expect, his new armor. He was now clad in numerous plates of steel-grey chrome digizoid, thick enough to keep him well protected, but thin enough not to slow him down. A plate covered each foot except for his toes, with two additional smaller plates creeping about a third of the way up his leg, linked together so as not to reduce his mobility. Above that his legs were left bare until over his knee; instead of his old denim shorts his thighs were now encased in armor, which tapered to a sharp point past the ends of his knees. The sole piece of fabric he still wore was a blood-red, rectangular piece of linen draped between his legs and hanging down just to the tops of his toes. His abdomen was left bare, but his chest was well-guarded. Two large plates wrapped around his ribcage and met in the middle. Each shoulder was covered in a simple pauldron consisting of about a quarter sphere of thin metal with a thicker rib along the edge. Running up Schakalmon's spine were four white spikes, all curving upward and each one longer than the one below it. He donned guards on his forearms as well, though the inside of his forearms were protected only by the leather straps used to hold the arm guards in place. These guards were tapered to a point over his elbows much like his greaves, though they also tapered to a point past his fingers, which would certainly add a little extra pain to any punch he might throw.

The best-protected parts of Schakalmon were his face and neck. A solid metal collar rose around the back and sides of his neck, just far enough away from his skin so as not to restrict his movements. Against the skin of his neck though, protecting his throat itself, were small linked metal plates that rose all the way up his neck to his mask. Though Schakalmon's face was hidden from view now, his head seemed a great dealer smaller than before. It was quite narrow, much like his whole body. It was a jackal's face he wore; the nose was long and came to a flat end. The lip was cleft up to the darker metal of the nose. Two dramatic edges receded from the sides of the nose up to Schakalmon's brow, slowly expanding to adjust to the spread of his face and forming the top edge for his narrow eyeholes, which revealed only a biting blue glow. Between his eyes, Schakalmon's mask was marked with the crest of honor, carved in relief on the ridge of his nose; the crest's bottom triangle reached down to almost the tip of his nose while the upper two sat over his eyes like eyebrows. The mask expanded to its widest for Schakalmon's pronounced cheek bones and even accommodated his ears, which no longer drooped off to the side but stood up tall straight over his head, sharply four-pointed like diamonds and big enough to make him look almost rabbit-like. The only part of Schakalmon's head that the mask didn't cover was his thick, red mane which blossomed out the back, only a few strands of hair hanging over his brow while the rest was all spread out behind him.

Adding to the wild look of Schakalmon's armor were stripes of bluish-gray on the otherwise steel-gray chrome digizoid. The armor around each foot had such a stripe extending vertically from his center toe to the top of the first plate. Each of his leg plates and forearm guards bore two swooping stripes that looked like they were moving away from his body. The inner portions of his pauldrons were entirely blue-gray in color, as were the linked plates running up his throat. On his chest there were two stripes swooping upward in the middle, the top being the large of the two, and two more on each side wrapping around under his arms arranged in a similar fashion.

For all the upgrading Schakalmon's body went through, it was no surprise that his weapon was more impressive than ever. His sword was now colossal by comparison to what it had been. The hilt alone was now almost as long as one of Schakalmon's arms. It was solid metal bound with bamboo and coated in a lustrous red lacquer. The end was capped with a bronze sphere atop a design that resembled a snake's tail coiling part of the way up the hilt. The hand-guard was now as wide as Schakalmon's forearm was long, and it was thick, too. It was made of bronze like the ornament at the other end of the handle, which made it a solid base for the massive chrome digizoid blade. The blade itself was about twice as long as the hilt, and while the cutting edge was exceedingly sharp, the weapon widened toward the dull edge, giving it more the weight of an axe than a sword. The weapon's tip swooped back and the cutting edge followed it all the way up to the very tip. The only other unusual trait of the blades was the pair of holes near the cutting edge at the blade's base; they were fairly large, but spaced far enough from the edge and from each other not to significantly compromise the weapon's integrity and they looked wide enough to channel a massive amount of blood from any freshly-opened wounds.

"Get out of my way," Asmodemon snarled. "I'm not done with Millenniumon yet."

"Too bad. He's done with you," Schakalmon said calmly.

Asmodemon shuddered and grabbed hold of the catalyst to once again replenish his disintegrating body. "I don't have time for this," he said.

"It sure doesn't look like it," said Schakalmon. "It looks like ZeedJustimon really hurt you."

"Nothing that feasting on your data won't fix," Asmodemon said wickedly.

"You don't scare me anymore, 'dad.' You're running on borrowed time."

"Aren't we all? Stand aside, my son, unless you want the time I borrow to be yours."

"What, and not even take this new armor out for a test drive?"

"Have it your way," said Asmodemon. "I'll just have to show you why armor digivolving is almost extinct."

Schakalmon tightened his grip on his weapon and held it out in front of him. No sooner had he done so than Asmodemon lashed at him with one of his tendrils. Schakalmon blocked the attack with his sword and started moving closer to the Destroyer. Asmodemon snickered to himself and unfurled two more tendrils at Schakalmon. Again, Schakalmon deflected the attack and was now moving at a brisk jog.

"You disappoint me, son," said Asmodemon. "You're hoping to survive this again, aren't you?" Schakalmon said nothing. He was entirely focused on what was in front of him. "Very well," Asmodemon went on. "Die silently."

Asmodemon again attacked with two tendrils while sneaking the other two into the ground beneath him. Schakalmon had to stop in order to block the first two tendrils this time, catching them on his weapon's flat surface. In spite of the intense force and extreme sharpness of the tendrils, Schakalmon's sword wasn't so much as scratched by them. Of course that was never Asmodemon's intention.

The second pair of tendrils burst from the ground right under Schakalmon, but before they could skewer him he jumped forward in a somersault. The first two tendrils flew past where they had been held, leaving them exposed to a swift swing of Schakalmon's blade. The severed parts fell limply to the ground while the roots quickly retracted back to Asmodemon's body. As Schakalmon landed he swung back at the tendrils still sprouting from the ground where he had been standing, severing those tips as well.

Asmodemon let out a shrill cry after losing the ends of all four appendages in the blink of an eye. Schakalmon stood up again and rested his massive sword on his shoulder. "Seems to handle pretty well, don't you think?"

Asmodemon didn't have much to say this time; he went right for the kill instead. Though the ends were lost, the bulk of his second pair of tendrils was still buried beneath Schakalmon's feet. In a second he tore both straight up through the asphalt and lashed at Schakalmon with the long strings of bone. Schakalmon stepped to the side and ducked under a swooping tendril even as he held his sword behind him to block a second incoming. As the tendrils coiled in on all sides, Schakalmon found himself under constant attack, often from more than one section of each tendril at a time.

"Squirm," Asmodemon hissed with delight as he watched Schakalmon duck under, jump over, and sidestep one attack after another. Every time Schakalmon tried to swing his sword he had to dodge another slashing tendril. Even Asmodemon had to admit he was impressed though; as fast as he was attacking and from so many different angles, he hadn't even made contact with Schakalmon yet. Schakalmon's reflexes were surely only the beginning of his power. Asmodemon intended to end the fight before it could truly begin. "I'm tired, my son," he announced. "I have no more time for your games. I'm going to drown you in your darkest nightmares, and I assure you you'll never awake again." With that, Asmodemon regenerated his as-yet unused tendrils and sent them both stabbing at Schakalmon.

Schakalmon saw the glint of polished bone out of the corner of his eye. He dropped to the ground, grabbed his weapon with one hand and fixed his bright blue eyes on the incoming tendrils. "Daiheijin Gekiretsu!" A dozen white flashes swooped out from Schakalmon in every direction, shredding not only the tendrils surrounding him but the other two on approach as well. It only lasted an instant, and when it was done there was Schakalmon, back in the same position, only now he was surrounded by decompiling bone fragments and a street that was torn completely to pieces. Only Asmodemon's eyes were quick enough to realize that each of the white flashes had been the light glinting off each incredibly fast swing of Schakalmon's massive blade.

As what remained of Asmodemon's broken tendrils withdrew back to his body. Schakalmon stood, again resting his weapon on his shoulder and slowly striding toward his opponent. "Do you like it?" he asked. "Its name is Daiheijin."

"You never were very creative, my son."

"No, I guess I'm not. Never learned how to be, I guess. I'll tell you what I have learned, though."

"Oh?" Asmodemon asked as he once again drew on the catalyst's power to restore himself. "Just what have you learned?"

"Respect," Schakalmon said as he continued to draw nearer. "I've been lucky to learn respect from three different teachers in my time. First was Kabukimon, who taught me to respect others. I'm sure you never heard of him, but he was one of the many you've killed in your time."

Asmodemon snickered. "It's getting easier to remember those whom I haven't killed."

"Then, of course, there was Bahadramon," Schakalmon continued. "He was my mentor, my trainer, and now my friend. He was the first one to ever really believe in me and what I could do. Did you know that? He made me stronger, sure, but what he really taught me was to respect myself, to respect my own abilities."

"And the third?"

"You. Yes, Asmodemon, even you have taught me a thing or two in your twisted way. You taught me to respect my enemies. I respect your strength, your cunning, your power; you've taught me that those who don't will end up dead. If it weren't for that lesson, I wouldn't be here. You see, I realized something: respect is the very heart of honor, and without it I could never wear this armor. I'll honor Kabukimon; I'll honor Bahadramon; I'll even honor you, Asmodemon, when I fight you. I'll honor you by not holding back a single ounce of power."

"Then I won't bother holding back either, my foolish son."

"Let me show you what I, the Sword of Honor, can really do! Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" Schakalmon swung his sword with only one hand, cutting a broad swath through the air in front of him. As the blade slit the air a shockwave spread out from the edge, slicing outward as a gust of wind and cutting through everything it touched. Asmodemon moved to the side just in time to avoid being cleaved completely in half by the attack. For once his eyes served him too well though; as he watched the attack split everything in its path, his focus was drawn away from Schakalmon for an instant. That split second was all the time Schakalmon needed to close the gap between himself and Asmodemon. "Daiheijin Gekiretsu!"

Asmodemon's body was sliced through eight times before he could turn to counterattack, but he made the most of it. One tendril wrapped around and seized Schakalmon's sword on the backswing while the other three closed in around Schakalmon's back, drawing his whole body in against Asmodemon. While the tendrils slashed into the exposed portion of Schakalmon's back, Asmodemon lifted his wings high overhead and thrust them at his trapped prey. Schakalmon defended himself masterfully though, raising his free arm which the tendrils hadn't managed to pin at his side and batting away Asmodemon's stabbing wings with his armguard.

As Schakalmon defended himself, Asmodemon began to feel his body pulling apart from the blows Schakalmon had dealt to him. He instinctively reached for the catalyst. Schakalmon had a different idea, but the same target; he let go of his weapon and grabbed at the pendant with his right claw. Unfortunately, Asmodemon reached it first and his wounds began to heal almost instantly, but he also realized the very great threat created by allowing Schakalmon so close to the catalyst. He loosened his tendrils and slammed both wings into Schakalmon, throwing him to the ground.

As Schakalmon landed on his back he heard his sword clatter to the ground not far away. He started to roll backwards onto his hands, but he was swiftly knocked back down again. Asmodemon was right on top of him, wings poised to strike and not so much as a glimmer of amusement on his face now. He attacked fast and hard, his wings tearing into the ground as Schakalmon did everything he could to dodge until Asmodemon slammed his hand down onto his chest and pinned him in place just long enough to pierce Schakalmon's left arm with one of his wings. The other one was aimed at the right arm, but Schakalmon's tail whipped around it and pulled it to the side. As Asmodemon's wing stuck in the ground, Schakalmon rolled back with all his might and slammed both feet up into Asmodemon's chest. Asmodemon was thrown forward, his hand and wing lifting from Schakalmon's body. Schakalmon flipped forward and snatched up his sword with his right hand, his left arm no longer in any shape for fighting.

Both opponents spun to face one another. Asmodemon lashed out with all four tendrils as he did so and Schakalmon held his sword up like a shield, deflecting a series of four rapid tendril strikes before returning the favor with another Daiheijin Kyoufuu. Asmodemon crossed his wings in front of him to break the deadly air blast before it could hit him. It worked, but right behind the blast was Schakalmon. He came in fast with a downward swing that separated the crossed wings. He then slashed upwards at a diagonal, but Asmodemon blocked the attack with one wing and made his own attack with his other wing, which Schakalmon was able to duck under. Rather than let Schakalmon make a counter attack of his own, Asmodemon used the first wing to shove Schakalmon back to give himself a little breathing space.

A white gleam flashed over Schakalmon's eyes at the same moment that the glow in Asmodemon's eyes intensified. "Daiheijin Gekiretsu!" Schakalmon roared.

"Havoc Strike!" Asmodemon countered.

Debris whirled around the pair as each struck with a series of blows too fast to see. The sound of each hit rang out and echoed off the tall buildings lining both sides of the street. The stinging sound of metal clashing against bone grew louder and louder as an instant became a second became two seconds. Each time they attacked one another their blows were deflected; neither could land a blow on the other's body. The intensity of their strikes only built and built as they each tried to get the upper hand in what they both began to realize was an even match. Then as quickly as it had begun, their clashing came to a stop; only their echoes still fought on.

They stared into one another's eyes, Schakalmon's blade and all eight of Asmodemon's limbs pushing against one another. "You fight as only my true son could," Asmodemon said with a grunt, using all his strength just to hold his ground. "Such speed, such strength, and such hatred."

"Save it," Schakalmon snarled. "I'm done listening to you."

"Then prove it, if you can. Attack with everything you have!" Asmodemon suddenly dropped his limbs and left his chest wide open to attack. Schakalmon surged forward, dragging his blade over Asmodemon's body. The blade did not cut though; Asmodemon had once again hardened his body against attack; Schakalmon didn't even make it halfway through the backswing before he ran out of time. "My turn!" said Asmodemon.

All eight limbs flung out wide right in Schakalmon's face. He was sent flying backwards, his body now raked with deep cuts, his armor scarred by Asmodemon's sheer strength. He cringed as he skidded backwards over the cracked street, plowing through whatever debris had been scattered about by the fight. It was a collision with a flipped car that finally brought Schakalmon to rest.

"You'll never be a match for me!" Asmodemon shouted. "Die knowing that I am unbeatable. Nine Circles!"

Schakalmon stood up again as Asmodemon's spheres began to coalesce once more. Schakalmon knew that any one of those attacks could mean his death, so he resolved to make the first move. He held his sword straight up overhead and he waited.

Asmodemon didn't care to see what trick Schakalmon had up his sleeve. His patience had run out. "Seventh Circle—"

"Kagirinai Raiu!" Schakalmon shouted before Asmodemon could finish. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, struck Schakalmon's sword, and slammed it forward into the ground. A clap of thunder sounded from the sword as the lightning strike split into three streams of electricity that tore through the street on an erratic course toward the Destroyer. In an instant they washed over Asmodemon, bathing him in searing white light and dispersing his spheres. Asmodemon crossed his limbs in front of himself a second too late, and though he was able to deflect most of the attack, enough got through to tear at his chest and violently throw him backwards.

Even as electricity still coursed throughout his body, Asmodemon would not let himself be made a fool of. He reached out with his tendrils, shooting each one to the side at diagonals. All four pierced the walls of the buildings on either side of the street, and though he dragged his bony appendages through several yards of glass and cement to do so, he managed to stop himself.

He wasn't out of trouble yet. Schakalmon was charging at him and coming in fast. With deadly speed and precision, Asmodemon freed his tendrils from the buildings and whipped them toward the center of the street and Schakalmon, but just as the tendrils were about to cross each other and divide Schakalmon into fifths, the armor digimon bounded upward and the tendrils passed harmlessly beneath him.

"Kagirinai Raiu!" Schakalmon shouted once again. This time he flung his weapon from his hand right at Asmodemon. The demon crossed his wings in front of him to block, but though the blade was deflected it dropped beneath the wings' cross and pierced through Asmodemon's lower ribcage and into the ground. As it struck the earth a bolt of lightning broke from the heavens and impacted on the blade.

A layer of data exploded from Asmodemon's already weakened body, eliciting a furious howl from him. Before he could free himself though, Schakalmon dropped from above and swung his claw right at Asmodemon's neck. Asmodemon caught Schakalmon by the wrist, wrenched it, and then threw his son to the ground before forcibly pulling his body free of the sword.

Schakalmon stood again as quickly as he could, grabbed his sword and stepped back to buy himself a moment to think. It wasn't enough though, because when Asmodemon turned around he lashed out with his tendrils again. Schakalmon jumped over them this time and backed away even further. His left arm was already completely soaked in his own blood and now his right wrist hurt to even move. To make matters worse, the time he had bought himself just now was being used by Asmodemon to regenerate his data once again.

"You have no hope, you realize," said Asmodemon.

"You thought the same thing about Justimon."

"Hardly an apt comparison, my son. His powers may have exceeded my own, but mine still exceed yours. Besides, in the end he was still weak, still human. He chose to die rather than embrace true power. As I feared, you suffer from the same weakness. You have been corrupted by that human data inside you."

"How can you possibly believe that what you're doing is right? Are you insane or something?"

"What I am doing is right because I can do nothing else."

"Then I guess I must be right to kill you."

"You will try, my son. You will try and you will fail."

"Daiheijin Kyoufuu!"

This time Asmodemon charged headfirst into the attack. He split the wind blade with one of his wings and then clawed at Schakalmon. First he stabbed at him with his wings, and when Schakalmon lifted his sword overhead to block those he swiped at him with his claws, against which Schakalmon could only suck in his stomach and push back with his toes. All it took was a nudge from Asmodemon's wings to send Schakalmon tumbling backwards, but as he did he rolled back on his arms then onto his feet again and managed to quickly slash at Asmodemon before he could be attacked again.

Asmodemon batted Schakalmon's sword away with one hand and grabbed him around the throat with the other. He was about to stab him with both wings, but in a rather surprising display of flexibility, Schakalmon sucked his chest up to meet his chin and kicked right up between himself and Asmodemon, first striking Asmodemon on the chin with both feet and then pushing back Asmodemon's wings with his feet, leaving Schakalmon and Asmodemon to look one another in the eye through Schakalmon's spread legs.

Asmodemon started to squeeze Schakalmon's neck, but the armor was too strong for him to get through, which left Schakalmon in the perfect, albeit uncomfortable, position to attack. He stabbed up through Asmodemon's ribs; the satisfying crack of every bone he broke as he moved his sword around made Schakalmon smile and infuriated Asmodemon. After a few aggravating seconds, Asmodemon yanked Schakalmon away, breaking a few ribs in the process, and threw him skyward.

Schakalmon landed feet-first on what must have been about the tenth story of a building. Though he landed solidly enough, he was unfortunately not the flying type, so to avoid sliding down a hundred foot drop, he jabbed his sword into the concrete wall and stood precariously on the narrow hilt. It was an opportunity Asmodemon couldn't miss. He shot from the ground and took aim at Schakalmon with his wings and claws. With Asmodemon closing in and only one place to go, Schakalmon dropped like a stone. He caught himself on the hilt with his hands, and though his sword loosened, it still held and Asmodemon passed right over him, smashing headfirst into a window. Schakalmon quickly pulled himself up by the knob at the end of his sword's hilt, flipping around the end and plowing his feet into Asmodemon from behind, simultaneously landing himself back on top of his sword and shoving Asmodemon all the way through the window into the building.

Before Asmodemon could even turn around, Schakalmon had already freed his sword from the building and had pushed off, heading for the other side of the street. Asmodemon struck out with his tendrils, hoping to catch Schakalmon in mid-flight, but Schakalmon turned to once again block with his sword. As all four tendrils struck, Schakalmon pushed back against them, launching himself away toward the rooftop of his target building. His tendrils thwarted, Asmodemon once again set off in pursuit.

Schakalmon looked up and realized he was going to come up a bit short of the roof. To make things even worse, he looked down to find Asmodemon coming in fast with his wings at the ready. Doing the only thing he could think of, he scrunched up into a ball just as Asmodemon tried to plunge his wings through his stomach. They plunged into the building instead, allowing Schakalmon to frantically kick off of Asmodemon's face, getting him just high enough to land safely on the rooftop. He didn't have time to breathe easy though, because just a second later Asmodemon clawed his way up onto the roof, dragging himself along by both his claws and wings.

Schakalmon turned to run as Asmodemon flew after him, his wings digging into the rooftop with each failed attempt to skewer the smaller digimon. As the rooftop's end quickly approached, Schakalmon was left with no place to go but forward, which ultimately meant going straight downward. Asmodemon's wings drew closer with each attack, so Schakalmon had no problem with going over the edge, but as he did so he grabbed the ledge and swung back against the building and right through the window of one of the top-floor corner offices. Asmodemon moved to follow him, but as he crawled through the broken glass window he was met with a nasty surprise.

"Daiheijin Kyoufuu!"

The slashing wind struck his face and chest. Though the blow didn't cut all the way through him, it was enough to expel him from the building. Unwilling to give up the offensive so easily, Asmodemon once again reached out with his tendrils. He struck at the open window, but Schakalmon dodged the strikes and then did something that surprised even Asmodemon: he jumped onto the nearest tendril and began running down it toward Asmodemon. As soon as he realized what was happening, Asmodemon let the tendril go slack and slashed at Schakalmon with the other three, but Schakalmon bounded off the first one and proceeded to use the others as springboards. In only a few jumps, even with sharpened bone whirling around his head, Schakalmon was right on top of Asmodemon.

They were both falling toward the earth together. Schakalmon made a powerful downward chop, which Asmodemon caught on his wings and countered with a swipe from his claws. Schakalmon blocked with his left leg even as he was coming in for another attack with his sword, this time from the side. The blade struck Asmodemon's arm and cut to through the flesh to the bone, but that's where it stopped. Infuriated, Asmodemon grabbed Schakalmon's wounded left arm in his right hand and twisted it. Schakalmon yelped in pain and hacked wildly at Asmodemon's right arm. Asmodemon knocked this attack away with his left wing and struck Schakalmon's masked face in the process.

Desperate to get Asmodemon to let go of his arm, Schakalmon headbutted Asmodemon in the face with all his might. Tough though Asmodemon's skull was, it was no match against the hardness of chrome digizoid; the blow chipped off bits of bone and made a large crack down the middle of his skull, but it only made him twist harder at Schakalmon's arm. Schakalmon parried Asmodemon's wings with his sword and gave Asmodemon another headbutt, and then another, each time smashing more and more bone, tearing more and more flesh. Finally on the fourth blow the whole left side of Asmodemon's head caved in. Schakalmon felt the hold on his left arm loosen for a moment and he pulled away, but as he did he found Asmodemon's tendrils suddenly tightening in around him from all sides. He spun around and raised his sword in front of him to block the incoming tendrils, and it worked. Though the tendrils couldn't cut through the blade to get at Schakalmon, they still tightened in around him, and in an instant his back was slammed against Asmodemon's chest—breaking several of Asmodemon's rib bones on Schakalmon's spines—and his sword was pinned up against his stomach while the tendrils squeezed as tight as they could.

They were dropping like stones, Asmodemon having entirely given up on flying now, seeing nothing beyond killing Schakalmon. He extended his wings under his arms, curved the tips back at Schakalmon's unguarded sides and was about to run him through, but Schakalmon got in his move first.

"Kagirinai Raiu!" he shouted. Again a bolt of lightning split the sky and struck his sword, but this time the attack hit both Asmodemon and Schakalmon. The impact blasted them apart only an instant before the ground rushed up to meet them. Schakalmon managed to spin around and land on both legs and his right arm just in time; the impact caused the ground all around him to sink by over a foot, shooting a plume of dust into the air. Asmodemon on the other hand plowed right through the street and ended up somewhere deep underground.

Smoke rose off of Schakalmon's body as electricity still sizzled through his fur. He stayed down on two knees, leaning against his sword and panting heavily. His eyes were closed, and though he tried feeling and listening for Asmodemon, his own body was trembling too much to sense much of anything. The fight was wearing him down fast; unless he could end it soon he was going to fall apart.

The ground below Schakalmon's feet exploded up at him, pelting him with asphalt as Asmodemon appeared. Schakalmon jumped straight up, but Asmodemon still closed the gap. Claws, wings and bone tendrils surrounded Schakalmon on all sides, rising up around him like the tide swallowing a sand bar. He fought back, hacking and slashing at anything that drew close, but it was too much. Claws snatched at him from below and cut his legs as he kicked them away. Wings jabbed at his midsection, forcing him to twist and contort his body out of the way while his sword was busy fending off the tendrils that circled him like a halo, stabbing and swinging in from every side, occasionally clipping some exposed flesh.

Schakalmon used his Daiheijin Gekiretsu again, which managed to fend Asmodemon off long enough for him to get away. As he landed though he fell to one knee and saw drops of blood spatter the ground all around him. He hadn't been fast enough to get away from that last attack without a scratch, and he knew the next one was sure to be even worse.

Asmodemon was running out of time. The longer he battled Schakalmon, the further away the DigiDestined could be getting and the more data he drained from the catalyst. He looked down at his broken body, the data continuously pouring off of it. Even he could not undo the damage done by ZeedJustimon's attack. If he continued to deplete the catalyst there would be no returning to the digital world for him, and that was as good as a death sentence. As much as he disliked admitting it, Schakalmon was an excellent opponent. In any other situation, Asmodemon knew he would win more through sheer endurance than superior ability. Now that time was something he couldn't spare, Asmodemon needed to make sure the next attack would be the last one.

"Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" Schakalmon shouted. He made a vertical slice through the air and sent out a blade of wind that ripped through the street as it closed in on Asmodemon. Asmodemon of course managed to move out of the way with ease, but as soon as he did he found another blast of air coming his way, forcing him to swing out of the way again. Sure enough, Schakalmon sent out a third attack, which was all Asmodemon would stand for. This one he broke with his wings as he spread his tendrils out to his sides, digging them into the closest buildings on either side of the street, one being four stories high and the other being five.

Schakalmon was just about to swing his sword again for another attack when Asmodemon's whole body tensed up. His tendrils strained as hard as they could, and then came the sounds of breaking stone and steel. Asmodemon's tendrils, wrapped throughout both buildings, snapped every support he could get hold of and dragged both buildings toppling over into the street, right on top of Schakalmon.

Schakalmon only had a second before both structures collapsed on top of him. He hesitated for a moment only to realize that there was no way his sword skills would be able to break through all that material, so he ran. He ran as fast as he could straight toward Asmodemon, who was sure to be at a safe range. Schakalmon ran, and he ran. He could hear his own heart beating in his head, but it all seemed to be happening in slow motion. The buildings were breaking up as they fell; a brick landed in front of Schakalmon, followed by dozens more all around him. It was going to be close, but he could make it. He knew he would get through just in time, and when he did he would land a blow that would finally bring Asmodemon down for good. He was going to make it.

He didn't make it. With only a few yards to go the debris overcame Schakalmon, burying him under what had to be at least a ton of materials. A cloud of dust exploded out in all directions, filling the streets with a suffocating haze. Asmodemon was satisfied, but he didn't have time to celebrate just yet. He'd been distracted for far too long and his time was nearly spent. He could not leave while the DigiDestined were still alive.

Asmodemon slowly turned his back on the rubble under which Schakalmon lay buried. The glow of his eyes intensified and he appeared to breathe in deeply.

"_Rain_

_A single drop_

_So cool to the touch_

_Breaks the seed of life,_

_Blooms a sapling,_

_Now a tree._

_Fall_

_Oranged skin,_

_Orange and red and brown,_

_Alive, burning with life, burning with death,_

_It rises from the dirt, and thence_

_Shall it return to,_

_As the sun._

_Set,_

_And in twilight,_

_Bring the flame of life_

_To the shaded land, vitality,_

_As eternity waits ahead_

_In the night's_

_Cold Rain_

_Waltz._"

Asmodemon threw his right hand high overhead, palm up. A column of red light exploded from it and quickly disappeared into the sky.

"It is done," said Asmodemon.

Asmodemon reached up for his catalyst, but stopped when he heard the sound of shifting rocks behind him. At the sound of Schakalmon's terrible roar, he began to turn.

"Daiheijin Fukkireru!"

Before Asmodemon even knew what was happening, Schakalmon was standing next to him, his body bleeding from the crushing blows he'd received under the buildings Asmodemon had dropped on him. His blade had pierced through Asmodemon from the side, as the demon had only turned halfway around. Schakalmon's sword now glowed white and trembled with power. It had severed both the arm and tendrils on Asmodemon's left side before passing up through the front part of Asmodemon's ribcage and popping out through his right shoulder. Strangely enough, the red mist touched by the sword disappeared.

Asmodemon's eyes shrank as he looked down at the wound. Schakalmon let out a held breath as he also observed the damage. "I missed," he said after a second. He coughed once, spraying a bit of blood as he did so.

"I never imagined you had this power," said Asmodemon. "Had you been only a few inches over… You are a worthy opponent."

"Save your compliments," Schakalmon said bitterly. "I failed."

"Perhaps not," said Asmodemon as he slid his broken body off of Schakalmon's sword. "If you would like, you may take another shot at me."

Schakalmon eyed Asmodemon suspiciously as he let his weapon rest on the ground. "What do you mean?"

"Choice, my son," Asmodemon said as he clutched the catalyst around his neck. "It seems to be something you're fond of. Follow me back home, and you will have your chance." A red glow surrounded Asmodemon's body and a vortex began to form around him. "Or you can stay here, and vainly attempt to stop my Apocalypse Rain from devastating this city and killing the humans you've grown so fond of. I leave it to you to decide." In a few more seconds, Asmodemon was engulfed by the crystal's vortex, and with a thunderous boom, he vanished from the human world.

Schakalmon turned his gaze skyward, watching as the clear blue sky overhead filled with tiny red stars, a thousand points of light that would soon fall to the earth.


	45. Alone No Longer

A/N: This is the concluding chapter of _The Last Digivice_, and I thank my readers for their seemingly infinite patience. I have only two things to say before we get right into it. First, I have created a forum available via my site profile. I will use it to handle any announcements I wish to make (I never did like these authors' notes) and if you have any questions or comments you would actually like me to respond to, that would be the place to take such things. Second, the final part of Digimon: Legends entitled _The Fifth Eye_ is under development. I will post it if and when I get around to writing it.

"Damn it!" Schakalmon cursed as fell to his knees. He couldn't look away as more and more tiny red lights flickered into life. "What do you want from me?" he shouted at his own echo. "It can't end this way. It's not fair!"

"Come on, wake up," Ken urged his old friend.

Unconscious since his fall, Ryo was lying on the sidewalk with Ken looming over him. Gennai was sitting down a few yards away being tended to by Izzy and TK. The police had finally arrived and were cordoning off the area around the battle. Yolei jumped at every approaching siren, hoping it was an ambulance.

"Gennai, you need to just rest, okay?" TK insisted. "You look terrible."

"I'll live through this," Gennai said as he wiped his brow on his sleeve.

"What happened to you?" asked Izzy. "I've never seen you looking like this."

"Just doing my job," said Gennai. "Speaking of which, I'm still on the clock." He tried to stand, but quickly fell forward. Luckily, TK and Izzy were there to catch him.

"Don't worry!" Misaki shouted as she ran up to the three of them. "The ambulance is almost here. You'll be fine."

Gennai shook his head as he sat back down. "You can't worry about me now. Look up. We have bigger problems."

"What is that up there?" asked Misaki.

Gennai let out a hacking cough and tried to force himself up onto his feet. "You've got to get everyone underground. If I can't stop this, that's your only chance."

"What are you going to do?" asked TK.

"I'm not sure," Gennai said weakly. "Whatever I can."

"Gennai, you can barely move," said Izzy. "You gave your strength and your digiegg to Schakalmon, right? If you trusted him that much, then trust him to save us now and trust us to watch out for you for once."

"Besides, he's got help," TK said encouragingly. "I saw Tai and Matt running out there after him."

"See?" said Izzy. "Those two have gotten us through worse things."

Gennai gave a reluctant nod. "The subway," he said, pointing across the street. "That will be our best bet."

"Yolei!" Ken yelled. "He's stopped breathing! I need you to help me give him CPR, okay?" Yolei quickly jumped in to help save Ryo's life. "Don't die," Ken whispered in between each chest compression. "Don't die. Don't die. Don't die like this." Another siren approached.

"Where is he?" Matt shouted.

"I don't know," Tai yelled from a few paces behind. "Just keep running!"

"Hey, Tai!"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever miss this?"

"What?" Tai asked.

"I said, 'do you ever miss this?'"

"Miss what?"

"You know. The whole saving the world thing."

Tai shook his head, but just kept on running. "Yeah, sometimes."

"Makes me wonder why we ever stopped!"

Tai laughed. "Definitely one of my favorite hobbies."

Matt slowed to a stop, but Tai didn't notice in time and plowed right into him.

"What'd you stop for?" Tai asked as he untangled himself and sat up.

"I was trying to figure out which way to go," Matt said as he wiped the blood from a fresh cut on his chin.

"I think you're out of practice," said Tai. "I don't remember you ever getting lost on the way to a fight way back when."

"Well I don't remember you running out of breath this fast back then, so I guess we're even." Matt stood up and looked around.

"Fair enough," Tai said as he quickly caught his breath. "Now come on. I haven't waited this long to miss the ending."

"Which way though?" asked Matt.

"I've got a good feeling about this direction over here!" Tai called out as he was already off and running.

"Come on already, let's go!" Davis shouted as he did his best to herd everyone he could into the subway. "No time to spare, guys!"

"We can't move him if there's a risk of spinal chord injury," said one of the EMTs who was tending to Ryo.

"We don't have a choice," said Ken. "Do you see all those lights up there? In another minute they'll all be down here."

"Ken! You need to get all those people over here now!" Davis shouted. "We've got no time left!"

"Gennai, do you really think this will do any good?" Izzy asked as he and TK carried Gennai down the subway steps.

Gennai sighed. "It's better than doing nothing. If Schakalmon fails then it's all we have."

"Are we missing anyone?" Davis asked as he scanned the street.

"I don't see Jack down here!" Sora shouted up at him.

"Great," said Davis. "Where'd he get to? Ken, let's move it already! You too, Yolei!"

While everyone crowded into the subway, Jack made a final round looking for anyone that hadn't taken cover. He nearly tripped over himself when he turned the corner and saw Kari standing in the middle of the street looking away from him. She bit her thumbnail anxiously until she had to cough from all the dust in the air.

"Kari?" Jack called out from behind her.

She was startled and turned around quickly. "Jack," she said in a relieved tone.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you got out with everyone else."

"I don't know," she said, her mind seemingly somewhere else. "I just felt like I had to come back. Was that Tai and Matt I just saw?"

"Yeah, it was probably them," said Jack. "Come on. We need to get underground with the others."

She shook her head. "I'm going to wait here for Tai."

"He'll be fine. Besides, he'd want you to be safe, right?"

"I know," said Kari. "I believe in him though. I believe in both of them. I'll be alright, Jack. You can go on back to the others."

Jack sighed heavily. "No, I should stay here with you."

"You don't have to," she said.

"Look, I'm going to stay, alright? I just…I know nobody likes to be alone when things look bad. Neither one of us needs that now, don't you think?"

Kari smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Let's just see if we can find someplace with a little cover to wait for them, okay?"

Kari nodded. "Sure."

Schakalmon clutched his left arm tight. The pain was slowly being blocked out by a growing numbness. His head hung low as he cursed himself for his weakness in between choked sobs.

"This can't be happening. I can't die like this. I can't let them all down now. I just… Why…?" Schakalmon pounded the ground with his right fist a few times before leaning forward to rest his head on the ground. He draped his arms over his eyes to block out all the light of the world as his last bit of resolve died away and all that was left was a sobbing child.

"I'm sorry!" he cried out. "Bahadramon. Angemon. Omnimon. Everyone. I'm so… I just couldn't. I'm not strong enough. It's too much for me!"

Tears streamed freely down Schakalmon's face beneath his mask as his words became gibberish. At first he didn't even notice the shouts in the distance; even when the voices drew close he ignored them, right up until he felt someone shake his shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tai asked as he set his hand on Schakalmon.

Schakalmon sniffled pitifully. "Leave me alone," he groaned.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Matt. "Where'd the bad guy get to?"

Schakalmon only wrapped his arms tighter around his face. "Gone," he groaned.

"Then is it over?" asked Tai.

Schakalmon shook his head but said nothing.

"The lights," Matt said as he looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand. "I take it that's not a good thing."

"We've got to do something about it," said Tai.

"Get up, would you?" Matt insisted. "We really need your help here."

If it were possible, Schakalmon slumped even lower and curled in on himself. "I can't."

"You're the only chance we've got now," said Tai. "I know we always try to do our part, but this isn't something we can stop. We need digimon like you."

Schakalmon sobbed. "I can't do anything… I can't save you. I can't save anyone!"

"We saw you fighting that evil digimon," said Tai. "You were amazing, but the fight isn't over yet. You're not going to give up now, are you?"

"It's too hard!" Schakalmon shouted. "Every day I've had to push myself to do things I should never have to do. Every day just gets harder and harder and I'm just worn out, okay? I don't deserve this!"

"I can't believe this!" said Matt. "This guy is supposed to be the one saving us?"

"Leave me alone," said Schakalmon. "I'm…I'm just a kid."

Tai leaned in and whispered in Schakalmon's ear. "The things that really matter are never easy, especially when you're the only one that can do them. I was just a kid when we first went to the Digital World, and it wasn't easy. We still kept on going because there wasn't any other choice."

"I'm not like you," Schakalmon choked. "I can't handle this."

"I know you're scared," Tai whispered. "I am too. We all are."

"Why is it always me?" Schakalmon asked.

"Tai, we're almost out of time here," Matt said impatiently.

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" asked Tai. "We've had the world depending on us in the past, and now it's depending on you. That makes you one of us, and just like us you are going to come through in the end."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because even though we've just met, we're friends," said Tai. "Friendship can make you do things you never thought possible. It can give you the courage to fight when you're scared. Even if you can't win, you'll still fight for honor's sake and to protect everything you care about. You're a DigiDestined like us. We are your friends, and that means you never fight alone."

Schakalmon sniffled, lifted his head and wiped his eyes. "I…I'm still scared."

"We know you are," said Tai.

"We still believe in you though," said Matt.

"What are you doing?" TK asked Davis as they huddled underground alongside paramedics, police officers and fellow DigiDestined.

"I'm praying for a miracle as hard as I can," said Davis, his eyes closed and hands locked together.

TK looked down at his feet, feeling the tension between Davis and himself. All he could bring himself to say was, "I'll help."

Ken and Yolei were not far away, crammed against a wall next to Ryo, Gennai and the paramedics that were seeing to them.

"Not exactly the honeymoon I had in mind," Yolei said as she looked around.

"I'm really sorry," said Ken.

"Don't be silly," said Yolei. "It's not your fault."

"Sorry."

"No more apologies, okay?" she insisted.

"Alright. Sorry about that."

Yolei pressed her palms to her forehead and groaned in frustration, which made Ken smile.

"Yolei, I love you," Ken said after a quiet moment.

"Don't even start with that," Yolei insisted. "We're going to be fine, alright?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Ken.

"Of course I am. I have no doubt that any second now we'll be saved."

Ken wrapped Yolei in his arms and hugged her tight. "As long as you believe, then so do I," he said.

On the streets above, Kari and Jack stood together under the red sky. A strong breeze whipped past them.

"They can do it," said Kari. "I know they can."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to know all of you better," said Jack. "Maybe then I'd be as sure as you are."

"You've put your life in our hands before," Kari pointed out.

"Yeah, but back then I could still do something myself, or at least Stormdramon could do something for me. There's nothing I can do this time though."

"That's not true," said Kari. "You can hope."

"Hope." Jack nodded. "That I can do."

These prayers and dozens more were all heard, no matter how quiet they were, by the single digignome who had appeared to lead TK to the DigiEgg of Honor. It hovered from spot to spot listening to the desperate pleas of many people, until at last it arrived at where Tai, Matt and Schakalmon stood looking up. The digignome watched silently and waited for the right moment.

"I don't think I can do this," Schakalmon said nervously.

"You can," said Matt.

"You have to try," Tai insisted. "Remember, we're all here with you."

"But I don't even know what to do," Schakalmon went on. "How am I supposed to stop this?"

"How should I know?" asked Tai. "You'll just…figure it out."

"Tai's right," said Matt. "Follow your instincts."

Schakalmon nodded as he tightened his grip on his sword. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Look, I know there's a lot we could say that won't make any difference in how you feel," said Matt. "You're frustrated, right?"

"Nothing I do is ever enough," Schakalmon said woefully.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Matt asked. "Are you going to turn that frustration against yourself? Or are you going to turn it back against the digimon who did all this?"

Schakalmon clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. He could see Asmodemon in his mind's eye. He could see Guilmon and SamuSetomon and everyone else he'd lost because of the Destroyer. If he lost the will to fight, then everything he had been through would be meaningless.

"I have to make him pay for what he's done," said Schakalmon.

"Then you know what you need to do," Matt said with a nod.

Schakalmon nodded grimly, and then he was off in a flash. He charged the building right in front of him and made it up over four stories in just a few strides before he had to push off. He landed with his claws flat against the building on the opposite side of the street, his sword tucked under his limp left arm and his gaze fixed unflinchingly skyward. He reached up and dug his right claw deep into the concrete; then with a mighty pull he sent himself rocketing skyward. The momentum was enough for him to get a vertical run going, the pads of his feet gracefully pushing him higher and higher with each bound. As the skyline receded all around him, Schakalmon closed his eyes and made one last push. He caught the ledge of the rooftop in his hand and smoothly pulled himself up and onto the roof.

Taking his sword in his right hand again, Schakalmon looked around him. The first bolts of the Apocalypse Rain were only seconds away, and the first one would land right on top of him. His sight was so blurry he could hardly see. His cheeks ached and his nose stung; his lungs felt only half full, though he almost choked to breathe in. He whispered something to himself then, but it was so quiet even he couldn't hear it over the thrumming of his own heart and lungs.

Schakalmon slowly pulled his sword back behind him and held it there for a moment. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" he cried with every last bit of data in his body. As his sword began to swing, the digignome nodded and Schakalmon felt an explosion of power within himself. As he swung his blade, the air it cut sucked everything upward. The entire building at his feet strained against its foundations as everything not nailed down was sucked up in a torrent of wind that tore through the bolt above Schakalmon and a dozen more beyond it. As the moment passed and a hole appeared in the sky above Schakalmon, his eyes could only gape in awe. He looked at his blade, at his hands, at himself; it all glowed with a shimmering white aura.

Flabbergasted though he was by this sudden power, Schakalmon had no time to dwell on it. There were already more of the deadly bolts falling around him on all sides. He turned swiftly to his left and attacked again. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" he roared and cut another swath through the air. Again the burst of wind blew through and dissipated every one of Asmodemon's attacks that it touched. Without a moment's pause he turned around and slashed again, cutting through another wave of attacks, but there were still so many.

Schakalmon attacked again, and again, and yet again, but every time he cleared away another cluster of screeching bombs, there would be others falling from every other direction, and when he turned to face those the originals would have been replaced by another wave. To make matters worse, this was only the leading edge of the attack. Every second the bolts grew denser and denser around Schakalmon. Inevitably, he found himself faced with one cluster of bolts on his left and another on his right. With no time to make a choice, Schakalmon could only turn and attack. As he did so, he felt a surge of power surrounding him, and then pulling away.

"Daiheijin Kyoufuu!"

"Flint Edge!"

Schakalmon didn't even wait to watch his attack clear away his targets. He instantly spun on his heel to see WarriorSetomon standing next to him, facing the way he hadn't gone. WarriorSetomon's Flint Edge shot out a whipping tail of flame that cleared away the bolts of the Apocalypse Rain, but like Schakalmon he didn't even bother to watch; he spun around to see Schakalmon, and the pair could only look at one another for an instant.

"Heads up!" they both shouted at one another. Each turned to his right and let loose his attack, clearing away two more waves. They both kept on turning and pushed up back-to-back, both hearts pounding in their chests. The air was filled with the red haze of a thousand glowing bombs. The clouds thundered and the ground shook as Schakalmon and WarriorSetomon joined forces in their last-ditch defense.

"Daiheijin Kyoufuu!"

"Flint Edge!"

Both of them once again struck their targets, but unfortunately Schakalmon wasn't watching where he was aiming this time and his attack proceeded to blow out three floors of a nearby building.

"Damn!" Schakalmon cursed to himself.

"Look out!" WarriorSetomon shouted at his back.

Two tight bolt groupings dropped right past the pair, one heading for the street and the other onto the neighboring building which was seven stories shorter than the one they stood on. Before WarriorSetomon had even finished what he was saying he was already on the move. He threw himself over the buildings ledge and dropped like a stone toward the next building. Schakalmon meanwhile turned toward the street and shouted, "Daiheijin Fukkireru!"

It was as if Schakalmon hadn't even crossed the space between the rooftop and the ground, but he reached the street nonetheless. His blade was shining white, and the ringing of its metal almost sounded musical. The bolts vanished without a trace as he returned his attention skyward.

WarriorSetomon, meanwhile, wasn't having such an easy time of it. Though he fell as fast as he could, he still couldn't catch up in time. With the bolt below only moments from impact, WarriorSetomon hurled his sword straight down with all his might. With only a few feet to spare, the blade sliced through its target and embedded itself in the rooftop. WarriorSetomon joined it a second later, landing on all fours before immediately turning his focus upwards at the three bolts still heading for him. He stretched both hands out high over head and positioned himself directly beneath the first bolt. WarriorSetomon clenched his teeth and waited.

The attack slammed into WarriorSetomon's palms, kicking up a gust of wind that sent dirt and debris flying off the roof. Though WarriorSetomon caught it, he was still being pushed down. The roof under his feet began to creak and groan under the pressure. WarriorSetomon grunted as he pushed back against the bolt just enough to move a few feet over to catch the second one, and then backpedaled a few yards to catch the third. Each of those two impacts made the force pushing down against WarriorSetomon even greater. The concrete beneath his paws began to crack and sink; the steel beams below that began to buckle, and as the whole rooftop started to collapse, all the windows on the top floor shattered.

WarriorSetomon closed his fists around the bolts he held, slowly feeling the pressure lifting from him as their energy coiled around his arms. He breathed it in through his nose and mouth, and just as his lungs filled to capacity and his hands were left empty, he turned and snorted puffs of smoke from his nostrils. "Incendiary Strike!" he roared as he extended his hands out and fired a stream of white-hot energy from them, quickly sweeping the sky to his right and clearing away dozens of the attacks in just a few seconds. WarriorSetomon paused only to grab his sword before heading off to a new vantage point.

Schakalmon was atop a new building, once again making broad sweeps with his Daiheijin Kyoufuu when a number of the attacks slipped in behind him, between himself and another building. Unable to counter them with his wind technique, he made a flying leap from the ledge on a path that would take him right through the heart of this latest grouping. "Daiheijin Gekiretsu!" With a few precise and incredibly fast swings of his blade he took care of most of the bolts as he fell, and when he landed he rolled and spun around to take out the remainder with a Daiheijin Kyoufuu fired up into clear sky.

Seeing a bolt about to impact that was beyond the range of his Flint Edge, WarriorSetomon thought fast. With a single slice he cut away one of the stone corners of the rooftop he now occupied, then he quickly grabbed hold of it and hurled it as far and as fast as he could. The stone block hit the falling bolt precisely, causing it to explode in all its fury; thankfully, the bolt was still high enough off the ground to not do too much damage, but it distracted WarriorSetomon for a moment. The surface on which he stood was weakened by his quick thinking and gave away under his weight. He slid right off the rooftop along with a few crumbling stone blocks, but as he began to fall he quickly caught himself on a narrow ledge, hanging on by only the claw tips of his left hand.

As WarriorSetomon looked for a way to climb back up, he saw a bolt coming straight for his building. In his position there was no way he could do anything. He tried to pull himself up, but it was too late. The bolt plunged through the roof and burnt down through one floor after another before detonating at ground level. The searing light filled the whole building, and as every wall was blown out WarriorSetomon fell backwards, watching helplessly as the entire corner of the building to which he had clung fell outward, tons upon tons of solid stone falling as quickly towards him as he fell towards the ground.

WarriorSetomon felt like his lungs, his heart, his every bone was on fire. He couldn't even breathe, at once being helpless and surging with a sense of overflowing power. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his face. He felt the ground slam into his back. His body collapsed hard against the street and all the air shot up and out of his lungs, along with the incredible sensation he's just been overcome with. He heard the corner land, but he never felt it. After a second he opened his eyes again, and though he was gasping for breath, he could still focus enough to see the hulking figure standing over him, massive forearms straining against the full weight of the stone edifice.

SaberSetomon grunted savagely. The force of the impact jarred every bone in his body, and though it felt like ever last tendon and every last muscle was ready to give out, he had to do more than hang on. He had to push back. By sheer force of will, SaberSetomon pushed past the pain, and he rolled the edifice off to the side, away from himself and from WarriorSetomon. It shook the whole street when it landed, and the mighty stone shattered from the impact.

SaberSetomon quickly turned and pulled WarriorSetomon to his feet. They smiled at one another.

"Thanks," said WarriorSetomon.

"Don't mention it," said SaberSetomon. "Care for a lift? Schakalmon could use your help up there."

WarriorSetomon nodded. SaberSetomon put his hands together and lowered them for WarriorSetomon. WarriorSetomon took one step on and before he was even ready he was hurled high into the air. He sailed above any of the building in the area before he even began slowing down, but it was a fine opportunity to take care of whatever bolts he could reach before touching down on the closest building.

As for SaberSetomon, he took a moment to regard the debris all around him: ruined cars, streetlights, and of course the copious remains of a recently destroyed building. It would seem he had all the projectiles he needed.

Schakalmon got ready to clear away another group of bolts when a car soared up from ground level and struck the bolt in the center, causing it to detonate. All the other bolts around it were dispersed by the explosion, which left Schakalmon the small space of time he'd been waiting for to try something. He reached his sword arm all the way back over his left shoulder and got ready to swing.

"Kagirinai Raiu!" A bolt of lightning reached out from behind Schakalmon, cutting through several of Asmodemon's attacks in the process. When it struck Schakalmon's blade, he swung forward and the power of the lightning bolt arced off from the blade in ten different directions, each arc slicing through one or more groups of deadly bombs.

WarriorSetomon charged across the roof at full speed, leaping into the open air and cutting through a bolt just in time. He tumbled forward toward the building across the street and hit the wall with both feet; he pushed off and sailed back toward the side of the street he had started on and cut through two more bolts on the way back. He landed on one knee and his left hand, skidding several yards before spinning around and lashing out with his Flint Edge to take out yet another bolt.

Cupping a manhole cover in each hand, SaberSetomon quickly spun around and hurled them like a pair of discuses through the air, each one spinning off in a different direction and taking out a few bolts each. He immediately reached for the next bit of debris at hand—a toppled streetlight—when an explosion knocked him flat on his chest. Despite the furious pace the three of them were working at, another attack had managed to get through. SaberSetomon quickly rose and dusted himself off, but as he did he had an idea. A quick glance skyward to his counterparts told him that they had come up with the same plan. He pulled his right arm all the way back and waited for just the right moment.

"Flint Edge!" WarriorSetomon roared as he scraped his blade along the rooftop in a circle around him. Flames sparked up fast and furious and exploded outward when WarriorSetomon brought his spin to a jerking halt. The wave of fire was enough to clear away a few of the closer bolts and gave WarriorSetomon just enough time to make his move. He charged to the edge of the building and jumped off.

Seeing this, Schakalmon sliced through a few more nearby attacks before he sent his blade flying with all his might, hurtling it through a handful of bolts before it buried itself hilt-deep in the concrete side of a building down the block. Now unarmed, Schakalmon ran to the ledge facing WarriorSetomon and leapt straight out.

"Inferno Fist!" SaberSetomon shouted. His right fist was immediately wrapped in intense flames and he punched upward into empty space just as WarriorSetomon came falling down at him. WarriorSetomon landed with his hands pressed against SaberSetomon's; he instantly took in all the heat SaberSetomon's attack had to give up, and with a little help from the immense strength of SaberSetomon's punch, WarriorSetomon launched himself back into the air, right at Schakalmon. Schakalmon and WarriorSetomon caught each other by the right wrist, and when they did they were instantly whipped around and sent flying in opposite directions. Schakalmon went sailing toward his sword while WarriorSetomon was given a clear field of view from which to attack. "Incendiary Strike!" he yelled as his most powerful attack once again erupted from his hands and burned through the sky and a few dozen Apocalypse Raindrops.

Schakalmon landed hard against the vertical surface. In the blink of an eye he had freed his sword from the building and had taken a good portion of the wall out with it. Using his Daiheijin Fukkireru he was gone again just as fast, ascending the building in time to cleave through three more bolts. Unfortunately, while he was dealing with those, there were two more impacts he could do nothing about. The area of the attack was getting wider now, and he'd have to get a lot faster if he intended to keep up.

SaberSetomon buried his claws into the street all the way up to his knuckles. Straining with every muscle in his back and shoulders, he felt the road shudder and then give out; he tore a large section of the road right out from the asphalt and hoisted it up onto his shoulders. He quickly scanned what he could see of the horizon, looking for a target to aim for, but then an immense weight landed on the section of street and instantly forced SaberSetomon to his knees. Over the next few seconds the pressure only grew; a haunting light surrounded him on all sides and the asphalt he held began to melt in his very hands. He knew that he'd been struck by one of the bolts, and in another second it would burrow through his improvised shield and it would detonate.

"SaberSetomon!" WarriorSetomon yelled as he continued to hack through bolts falling around him on all sides. "Hang on!" WarriorSetomon hacked and slashed with everything he had, but the attacks were falling thickly around him now, not even giving him an instant to charge in to save SaberSetomon. Schakalmon, meanwhile, was over half a mile away, moving from one rooftop to the next instantaneously with his Daiheijin Fukkireru. Even if he had known SaberSetomon's predicament though, he never could have made it back in time.

SaberSetomon shut his eyes tight, gritted his teeth and pushed back against the attack. There could be no doubt that SaberSetomon was strong, but even his muscles burned against the intense pressure. More and more he felt the heat from the attack seeping through the asphalt, and he could only push more and more of his power right up into the center of his back, between his shoulder blades. Then he felt the asphalt give out, splitting right in half and allowing the bolt right on through. At the very same instant, all the pressure he'd built up in his arms and back was released, erupting from the top of his spine in a glowing red form that pushed back through the attack, scattering its energies and landing a few yards behind SaberSetomon. SaberSetomon turned to look as broken bits of asphalt rained down on all sides of him. There was Setomon, crouched low and looking back at him.

"About time you showed up," he grumbled.

"You're welcome," Setomon shot back as he turned and ran toward the nearest building.

Bouncing from one wall to the other in a narrow alleyway, Setomon quickly ascended to the first rooftop he could find. He didn't even have time to scan the horizon before WarriorSetomon landed hard a few yards in front of him and dragged his Flint Edge along the roof to spark a fireball that he sent hurtling to extinguish another bolt.

"Heads up!" Setomon barked from behind him.

Before WarriorSetomon could even turn to look, he found Setomon's entire weight plunked down onto his back and shoulders. He stumbled forward and had to catch himself on with his left hand, but before he could even really react, Setomon leapt from his shoulders and out into the open air.

Fire Flash!" Setomon growled. A burst of flame appeared in front of his face and quickly engulfed his entire frame. Setomon shot off like a missile on a straight line that took him through three bolts before he slammed into the side of a building with all four paws. Only pausing there a moment, he ricocheted off on a new course that took him right through more of the bolts.

Schakalmon grunted as he sliced through yet another attack. Exhaustion was quickly settling in; the rush of power he'd felt was almost gone now, and each successive attack was getting harder to make. The only thing keeping his sword swinging now was the simple fact that he had no other choice. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" Another barrage disappeared before it could detonate, proving that although the strength in his arms was failing, Schakalmon's attacks remained as potent as ever. Still, he grew more and more aware of the growing distance between all his split forms. They had to spread out to keep up with the Apocalypse Rain's advancing perimeter, but that was leaving more and more room for a mistake. Impacts were getting more frequent now in spite of his valiant defense. The only question was whether it would be him or the attack that would run out of strength first. "Daiheijin Fukkireru!"

Reenergized by his near-death experience, SaberSetomon lay in wait. Another attack was falling right toward him, and he was ready to meet it head on with a smile and a raised hand. He felt the air all around him heating up; the debris was blowing away from him in billowing clouds; even sound itself seemed to flee from the bolt's approach, but SaberSetomon just kept on smiling right up until the last second, when he sprung into action. "Inferno Fist!" He struck at the attack hard and fast, so overpowering it that the bolt shattered into dozens of smaller attacks and fired back up toward the sky at as many angles. Some ripped holes through the buildings on all sides and most fired harmlessly into the heavens, but there were a few that managed to take out other threatening bolts before they could impact on the surface.

Pleased with the results, SaberSetomon grabbed for the nearest piece of rubble: a concrete boulder that he was just barely able to hold in one hand. He tossed it a few yards into the air and pulled back for another strike. "Inferno Fist!"

A thousand chunks of molten rock exploded from the street below, forcing WarriorSetomon to retreat to the next building. While he appreciated SaberSetomon's ingenuity in creating a lava storm, it posed as much of a threat to him as Asmodemon's attack did. Feeling that SaberSetomon could handle things in the area well enough on his own, WarriorSetomon quickly began expanding his fighting radius to keep up with the growing area of attack. Schakalmon was having greater and greater difficulty keeping things under control judging by the sound of explosions echoing through the streets.

"Flint Edge!" WarriorSetomon sparked a flame along his blade, but as soon as he did so he grabbed his sword in his left hand and absorbed the fire. "Incendiary Strike!" he roared, unleashing a bolt of flame that was admittedly weaker than his typical Incendiary Strike, but was also far more precise than the whip of his Flint Edge. He only took out two or three bolts with that attack, but he was quick to repeat this new approach, striking his sword ablaze with his right hand and launching a pillar of flame from his left. He moved so quickly he didn't even have time to think about the cuts forming on his left palm or the sweat pouring from his already exhausted body. Smoldering ash surrounded him, filled his lungs and singed his fur; he didn't know if it was from the burning buildings already hit or if it was the flames of his own attacks that caused it. It didn't really matter. More molten shards of rock fell around him, popping and hissing when they struck the rooftop. SaberSetomon was still giving it everything he had.

Ten stories up in the open air, Setomon dug his claws deep into the flat, vertical slab of concrete. Everything from the black clouds to the burning, smoke-filled streets below was bathed in a hellish red glow. The only things to break up the dim scene were the countless brightly-glowing, red-orange Apocalypse Raindrops. There would always be some winking out of existence when struck by the attacks of Setomon's other forms, though now and then one or two would explode in a brilliant flash that would make entire buildings disappear. The burning lights were always being replaced though as more and more of them broke through the cloud cover each second. The worst part had to be the sound. It was like thunder, but it never ceased or even diminished. It roared ceaselessly in Setomon's skull, threatening to dissolve away whatever madness kept him going on with each throb of his heart.

Setomon saw his chance to strike. "Fire Flash!" He was wrapped in a ball of fire and launched himself into the air, pushing off so hard that the wall he had been clinging to collapsed back into the building. One, two, three, four. By the time Setomon landed on the roof of the next building he'd taken out four more attacks, and he already had his sights set on the next three. In a flash he bounded across the roof and took to the air again. Five, six, seven. He landed on the front of the next building, paused a moment, and then back-flipped off. Eight, nine. He landed hard, back on the last rooftop he'd touched down on. He quickly turned to his left and took off running again, the wall of flames encircling him only growing more intense by the second; every surface he touched was left scorched in his wake.

Setomon ran to the corner of the building and leapt off. He bounded back and forth from rooftop to rooftop, crisscrossing along a street to take out every attack he encountered along the way and leaving a trail of fire behind him that stretched back to every point of his route. His count reached seventeen before a sound more terrible than any he'd heard yet erupted from just behind him and to his right. A bolt had hit the building he'd just left; the explosion tossed him like a rag doll.

Flipping through the air wildly, Setomon's flames dissipated as he began to lose consciousness. His vision of the world spinning all around him began growing darker and he felt the familiar warm trickle of blood on his skin. But then there was another warm sensation, this one within him. As his eyes grew dark, he was simultaneously being blinded by ribbons of light surrounding him on all sides. Before he blacked out entirely, he could have sworn he saw the light taking on the form of a glowing white hand, fingers outstretched, reaching out ahead of him from the base of his neck. The last thing he felt was his whole body jerking to a sudden halt.

That last impact shook the ground fiercely. At first SaberSetomon thought it was nothing more than that, when suddenly he realized that the building that had been hit wasn't entirely destroyed. In fact, most of it fell against its neighboring building, which in turn began to collapse into the street: the very street on which SaberSetomon stood. As the building began to fall right toward him, SaberSetomon took the bold—if not wise—course of action. He charged the building head on, slamming his weight stubbornly against the base. He braced himself against it and dug his toes into the concrete. Though it was enough to give the falling structure pause, there was nothing SaberSetomon could do now to stop the upper floors from toppling over right on top of him. In only a few seconds dozens of iron beams snapped, hundreds of glass windows splintered apart and thousands of bricks rent themselves from their mortar, and each of these along with everything else the building held all came crashing down over SaberSetomon.

An instant before it was all over, SaberSetomon felt someone standing over him. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" Schakalmon had moved in next to SaberSetomon as fast as his body would allow, and he came prepared. He fired his attack straight up with all the power he could summon. The incredible blast of wind nearly tore the street right up from the ground, making it more than enough to scatter the debris from the falling building skyward and in every direction. Some of the larger fragments even managed to take out a few errant bolts. Knowing there was no time to lose Schakalmon wrapped an arm around SaberSetomon and dragged him clear of the area in a flash, leaving the buildings to finish collapsing.

With his teammates suddenly indisposed, WarriorSetomon found himself working more frantically than ever before. He couldn't even tell if he was still breathing as he simultaneously cut a chunk from the rooftop on which he stood and used it to ignite his Flint Edge, which he then whipped at a few bolts on his right. On the backlash he absorbed the flames in his left hand while kicking the freed section of rooftop at another bolt in front of him. By the time he fired his incendiary strike at another cluster of bolts off to his left, he'd already reignited his Flint Edge and spun around to cut a flaming swath through the bolt that was just about to impact directly behind him. That was only the beginning.

Setomon's vision slowly came back into focus. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was, but when he did see that he was dangling over a hundred feet above the pavement the only thing he could ask himself was why he wasn't falling. That's when he felt the constant tugging at the scruff of his neck and he looked up. Holding the loose skin at the base of Setomon's skull in one hand and hanging on desperately to a narrow brick ledge with the other was Jenomon, his little arms straining under Setomon's weight.

Seeing Jenomon's tenuous grip, Setomon immediately dug his claws into the wall before him. With a sigh of relief, Jenomon relaxed and dropped onto Setomon's shoulders. "About time you woke up," he grumbled.

"Better late than never," Setomon said tensely. "Come on, we're not done yet."

Setomon dropped onto the nearest rooftop with Jenomon hanging on for dear life. Streaks of lightning blistered the sky, clearing away a barrage of Apocalypse Raindrops and telling the pair that Schakalmon was near. While scanning for someplace to strike from, Setomon was nearly knocked off his feet when a nearby explosion shook the whole building.

"Let's go already!" Jenomon barked.

"Alright, just hold on tight!"

Setomon was off like a shot, blasting from rooftop to rooftop faster than ever and dispatching bolts two and three at a time. His eyes could just barely keep up with his feet, but the pressure was only mounting; a slip up would be disastrous, but it also seemed unavoidable. Sure enough, Setomon tried to turn a little too quick on his heel to get at a bolt that was just about to drop below his attack zone and impact on the street below. He turned, but he kept on sliding, which turned into a roll that would land him hard against the cement lip along this particular rooftop, but not before Jenomon jumped from Setomon's back and landed in perfect striking position.

"My turn," Jenomon said with a gleam in his eye. "Rage Claw!" He ran to the ledge and leapt off just in time to claw through the attack. Of course this also meant that Jenomon was falling face-first toward the street. It was just Jenomon's luck that WarriorSetomon was passing by right then. A quick detour and he caught the rookie just in time.

WarriorSetomon kept right on running without pause. Seeing three bolts coming in for a landing ahead of him, he dropped the edge of his blade to the ground and dragged it to spark it to life again. At the last second he swung his sword in front of him and used the whipping fire from his Flint Edge to clear away all three. He absorbed the flames on the backlash and spun around in mid-stride to fire his Incendiary Strike at another bolt just about to strike a building about a block back.

Schakalmon's Kagirinai Raiu once again shook the heavens and bought WarriorSetomon time to find higher ground. He quickly ascended the closest building via the fire escape, barely even seeming to touch the metal as he jumped and clawed his way up. By the time he was on the roof he already seemed to have a plan, though there wasn't time to tell Jenomon just what it was. "Think fast!" was all he said.

Before Jenomon even knew what was happening, WarriorSetomon had grabbed him around the waist and hurled him into the distance with all his might. Jenomon flailed wildly until he saw himself coming up on a falling attack; he gritted his teeth and let loose with his Rage Claw at just the right moment. The attack dispersed, he turned back to see WarriorSetomon make his own move.

With two bolts to dispose of in opposite directions and with no time, WarriorSetomon did the only thing he could think of. He placed his blade against his already badly-bleeding left palm and jerked them apart to create the spark he needed. Despite the blood spatter left on both him and his blade, both his sword and his left hand filled with fire and he was able to attack with both his Flint Edge and Incendiary Strike simultaneously.

That was all Jenomon saw before he dropped out of line of sight with WarriorSetomon and once again found himself plummeting toward the street. This time, though, there was someone waiting there to catch him ahead of time. He landed in SaberSetomon's outstretched, oversized hands. A quick glance up at the Ultimate's grin told him he wouldn't be staying there long though. Without so much as a word of warning, SaberSetomon catapulted Jenomon straight up into the sky. He was almost getting used to it by now, and of course there were a few Apocalypse Raindrops along the way to claw through.

It wasn't until his ascent began slowing to a stop that Jenomon realized he was all alone and had about a thousand foot drop between himself and a very hard landing. As his momentum lost out to gravity, He curled up in a ball, crossed his fingers and shut his eyes tight. He nearly screamed when he landed on something hard after a mere three foot drop.

"Didn't think I was gonna' leave you hanging, did you?" Schakalmon asked. "Doing alright?"

While Jenomon didn't scream, he did wince. Landing on Schakalmon's armored left shoulder was unkind on his tailbone, but with the alternative being what it was, he wasn't about to complain. Jenomon grabbed onto his perch with one hand and managed a weak thumbs-up with the other. "Never better," he said with a cough.

"Well then hang on tight," Schakalmon warned him. "I'll get you through this yet. Daiheijin Fukkireru!"

Jenomon had never moved so fast in his life; it was all a blur as Schakalmon darted from building to building, cutting through more bolts than he could count. All the while WarriorSetomon's flames crisscrossed the sky, Setomon bounded freely from building to building, always wrapped in a ball of fire, and SaberSetomon sent wave after wave of splintered rock, lava and rubble tearing through just about anything he could hit.

Suddenly Jenomon lurched forward, just barely hanging on. It took him a few seconds to realize that Schakalmon had stopped moving, and after looking around in a very dizzy state, Jenomon realized that they were now atop the highest building in the area, very close to the center of the devastation. He grabbed hold of Schakalmon with both arms and closed his eyes.

Schakalmon lifted his blade overhead, pointing it straight up. He took in a breath, held it, and then coolly let it go as the Apocalypse Rain fell around him on all sides. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

He brought his sword swinging down low, and his whole body followed. Spinning on his heel he brought his blade slashing around all sides. As he went into the second pass he rose again and the hilt seemed to float freely from Schakalmon's hand, Daiheijin freely wielding its own savage cutting power as it spun around in a full second circle. In the third and final cut, Schakalmon took solid hold of the hilt right at the very base of the blade, and he swung the weapon's entire weight straight up once more. As Daiheijin halted its movement, aiming straight up at the heavens and ringing with the shrill cry of forged metal, the full force of the Daiheijin Kyoufuu exploded outward in every direction. The wind sent out by the attack surged out over everything in sight, breaking many windows and tossing debris wildly of course, but most importantly, every last one of Asmodemon's bolts that the wind touched was blown out like the flames of a hundred candles.

His chest still heaving, his heart racing, Schakalmon looked around for the next wave of attacks. Jenomon clamored all over his more evolved counterpart on the lookout, but all he could see was the dim red glow and the darkened shapes of buildings and smoke. Seconds passed, and for an excruciating minute there was nothing. There was nothing but the distant wail of sirens. It was not until Schakalmon began to catch his breath that he began to wonder whether it was in fact over. He didn't have a lot of time to wonder before his thoughts were interrupted.

"Look down there," said Jenomon. "It's the others."

Schakalmon peered over the ledge to the street far below. Setomon, SaberSetomon and WarriorSetomon had gathered there, and Schakalmon decided to join them. He jumped down to the next highest building, then to one shorter than that and so on until it was an easy jump down to the street. The others greeted the pair with nods and quiet mumbling.

"So did we win?" asked Jenomon.

"I don't know," WarriorSetomon said as he kept staring up at the sky.

"I didn't think it was really possible," said SaberSetomon.

"Don't get too excited just yet," Schakalmon warned.

"It'd be just like Asmodemon to try tricking us into thinking we'd won," said Setomon.

"There's no way he'd think we could have made it this far," said Jenomon.

"Maybe, but I'm not about to relax yet," said SaberSetomon.

"Schakalmon, that arm looks pretty bad," said Setomon. "We should do something about it while there's time."

Schakalmon turned to look at his left arm, hanging limp at his side. "I'm not sure we can do anything about it now," he said.

"There!" WarriorSetomon shouted. "Look!"

All eyes immediately went back to the sky. The familiar burning light of the Apocalypse Rain burned through the cloud cover. After a few seconds the clouds began to part altogether, pulling away and spiraling around the new, second sun in the sky. One final bolt hung in the heavens, easily the size of a house, unlike all the previous bolts which were usually only the size of basketballs. It was falling toward them now, slowly but unstoppably.

Schakalmon let out a low growl. "Daiheijin Kyoufuu," he said as he slashed his weapon through the air in front of him. His attack sailed through the air and collided with the last bolt, only to completely disappear against the overwhelming force dropping toward them.

"Fire Flash!"

"Inferno Fist!"

Setomon and SaberSetomon both fired up their abilities, and then readily gave their strength over to WarriorSetomon. He lit his Flint Edge ablaze and used that to finish charging up his attack. Schakalmon meanwhile held his sword out behind him and took careful aim.

"Incendiary Strike!"

"Kagirinai Raiu!"

WarriorSetomon's blazing lance and Schakalmon's wave of raw electricity encircled one another, mixing together just as they collided with the bolt. Although their attacks struck with incredible force, Asmodemon's last laugh would not be stopped. It pushed right on through their efforts and loomed larger and large in the sky with each second.

"Well this sucks," SaberSetomon growled.

"Any other bright ideas?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"Come on, guys! We can't stop now!" Jenomon insisted.

"Jenomon's right," said Schakalmon. "We've made it this far for a reason. I have to believe we've got everything we need to stop this."

"How?" asked Setomon.

"The only way we've ever been good at doing anything," said Schakalmon. "Head-on."

WarriorSetomon smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"I'm in," SaberSetomon said with a nod.

"You can count on me," said Setomon.

"And me too!" Jenomon chimed in.

"Alright then," said Schakalmon. "No hesitation, no doubt, and no holding back. If there was ever a time to attack with everything we've got, then this is it."

"Let's go!" said WarriorSetomon.

Setomon, SaberSetomon and WarriorSetomon took off first, jumping between buildings to get up as high as they could to make the strike. Schakalmon lingered behind with Jenomon holding on to him.

"We all have a reason for being here, Jenomon," Schakalmon said calmly. "Even you."

"I know," said Jenomon. "I'm just glad that no matter what happens, it's almost over."

"My reason for being here is to fight," Schakalmon went on. "Yours is to survive."

Jenomon turned to look at Schakalmon, but before he could get out a question, Schakalmon reached up and shoved Jenomon backwards off his shoulder. Jenomon landed on his back with a bounce, and before he could rise again, Schakalmon was in the air, converging on the bolt along with the other three.

There was a blinding flash of light that filled the whole sky then. Whatever they had done, the last bolt of the Apocalypse Rain ruptured and exploded. Fortunately it was still far enough from any structured not to do any serious damage, but the shockwave was so strong that it sent everything not nailed down flying, including Jenomon.

Whether it was from a bump to the head or sheer exhaustion, Jenomon passed out shortly after that, but not before seeing the sky clear, and not before realizing that Setomon, SaberSetomon, WarriorSetomon and Schakalmon would not be returning from their final charge. His eyes shut and his breathing shallow, the last thing he felt before drifting off into a long, well-earned sleep was the sensation of being picked up and carried off somewhere. Where that place was he couldn't care less. Never in his life had he slept so well. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he did not dream.

**Day 72**

Davis stood in front of his bathroom mirror in his boxers and undershirt, dabbing a damp washcloth at his forehead. A used, bloody bandage sat atop the pile of trash in the trashcan while some fresh bandages and tape sat on the sink along with a toothbrush, razor and shaving cream. Davis winced as he prodded the wound, trying to think away the pain by reminding himself that at least he hadn't needed stitches. It didn't work.

There was a loud knock at the front door. "Ow! Son of a…" Davis cursed. "Coming!"

Davis quickly stuck on a new bandage and pulled on a pair of jeans. Meanwhile there was another knock at the door. "The rent's not due for another week!" he shouted while struggling with the zipper.

"It's me," a muffled voice said from outside.

A few seconds later Davis made it to the door and opened it. "Oh, it's you," he said when he saw who it was.

"Well don't jump up and down or anything," said TK, whose nose was bandaged much like Davis' forehead.

"Look, I'm kind of getting ready for work, so can we maybe do this later or something?"

"You're not making this easy, you know?" asked TK.

"Making what easy?"

"Can I just come in for five minutes? It's not like you're never late anyway."

Davis sighed. "Fine, whatever."

Davis walked back into his tiny apartment with TK in tow. "How's your forehead?" TK asked before the door had even closed behind him.

"It hurts," said Davis. "What about your nose?"

"It hurts," TK said with a nod.

Davis nodded back. "I'm sorry about that I guess. It's not my fault the damn brick bounced off my head and went right for your face though."

"I know, I know. It's not a big deal or anything. Guess that thick head of yours really helped you out this time though, right?" TK snickered, though Davis didn't seem to appreciate it.

"So is this the only reason you came over here this morning?"

TK sighed and looked off to the side. "No… No it isn't. I'm sorry about that though. Guess I'm just stalling or something."

"Well spit it out already, dude."

"Fine," said TK, who was still trying not to look directly at Davis. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all the attitude I've been giving you lately and I'm really sorry if I messed things up between you and Kari."

"Well you should be," said Davis.

"I know, okay? Look, everything we went through yesterday really got me thinking. Things between me and Kari are all screwed up and then I kind of screwed things up between you and her. I don't want things between us to be weird too, you know?"

Davis rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Besides, I can't really blame you for getting Kari mad at me. That one was pretty much my doing."

"So do you think we can be cool?" asked TK.

"Sure thing, dude," said Davis. "Besides, you're, like, one of my oldest friends in the whole world. I don't want to screw that up…even if you _were_ acting like a jerk."

TK smiled. "Well someone had to and you were busy."

"Oh I was all kinds of busy, if you know what I'm talking about." Davis laughed.

TK chuckled too, but then he said, "You weren't really, were you?"

Davis shook his head. "No, not really."

"I didn't think so."

"What is it about girls that messes everything up?" asked Davis.

"I think we both know the answer to that one."

Davis nodded. "They're pretty."

TK snickered. "How about this: we make a promise. From now on, we don't let the little things come between us, okay?"

"Sounds like a good promise to me," said Davis.

"So it's settled then," said TK. "No more fighting."

"So now that we're not fighting…" Davis started. "Are you gonna' try to get back together with Kari?"

TK shook his head. "Not right now. I think I need to take a little time off from dating. Are you?"

Davis shook his head as well. "Something tells me if I try getting anywhere near her this little bump on my head will be just the beginning."

"That's probably a good call," said TK. "Besides, I get the feeling that she just wants to get out a little more, broaden her horizons. I can't really blame her for that."

"Yeah, I guess. Who knows? Trying something different for a little while will probably do her some good."

At that very moment in another part of town Kari was cracking a few eggs for breakfast when there was a knock at the door to her parents' apartment. Unlike Davis, though, she had been expecting a visitor and went quickly to the door.

"Good morning," said Jack, who looked like he'd had a rough night.

"Come on in," Kari said with a smile.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Jack said as he closed the door and took off his shoes. "I just can't get used to this time zone, you know?"

Kari went back to whipping up the eggs she'd left on the counter. "I know what you mean. So have you slept at all since yesterday?"

"Nope. Of course it didn't help that I was breaking up with Amber all night long."

"Oh Jack, I'm so sorry. Where is she now?"

"In the hotel room packing her things. I managed to get her an earlier flight back."

"It's probably for the best," said Kari.

"You're telling me. Can you imagine having to sit next to her for eighteen hours?"

Kari giggled. "That's not what I meant."

"I know. I just don't want to dwell on it forever. It's not healthy."

"Well as long as you're happy," said Kari.

"I don't know about happy, but I've felt worse."

"So what do you like in your omelet?"

"Surprise me."

Kari took a peak in the fridge. "Hmm. By the looks of things you're going to wind up being really surprised. Do squid and tofu go well with eggs?"

Jack suddenly looked a bit sick. "I'd rather not find out."

Kari giggled again. "Don't worry, I'll find something in here."

Jack smiled and turned to take a look around the room. He was scanning some of the family photos on the wall when he said, "I'm sure not looking forward to going back home to an empty apartment."

"I know what you mean," said Kari as she discovered some cheese hidden behind a jar of pickles. "You get used to always having someone there."

"So you're in the same boat as I am, right?"

"Afraid so," said Kari. "Urg! I get mad just thinking about it."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"No, it wasn't like that. I just get mad at myself, you know?"

Jack cocked an eye at Kari. "How do you mean?"

Kari sighed and looked off into space for a second. "I don't really know what I mean. It's just so complicated. Maybe I should have seen it coming or maybe I'm the one that ruined things, or maybe I just overreacted. I don't know; it's confusing."

"Well try not to think about it too much," said Jack. "You'll figure it out faster if you sleep on it I'll bet. Now come on, it's not like we're here to share stories of our newfound bitter loneliness."

"You're right, of course," Kari conceded. "You were the one that said you wished you'd gotten to know us better, right? So let's share. How are things on your end of the world?"

"Looking up. I was thinking of moving out of the city, actually."

"Is that so?" asked Kari. "Thinking of starting a farm?"

Jack laughed. "Probably not _that _far out of the city, but someplace where I could take it easy. I don't know, just a thought. How about you? How's the last decade been for you?"

"Actually, I'm really getting excited about this whole teaching thing," said Kari.

Jack smiled. "Yeah? Tell me all about it."

In the shade of Infinity Mountain sat Primary Village, which remained as pleasant a place as Jenomon remembered it. The sun was shining and there were many young digimon at play, but Jenomon of course wasn't awake to see any of it. He lay fast asleep inside Elecmon's hut, where he'd been sleeping ever since the day before. Watching him sleep, Elena sat quietly in the shady corner, away from the bright light pouring in through the window. The flimsy door creaked open and Tiresias stepped inside, having to stoop low to keep from hitting the ceiling. Elena turned to him, and though she could already see the grave news in his blind eyes, she had to ask anyway.

"How have the battles gone?"

"Not well, I'm afraid," Tiresias said solemnly. "Westmarch and Hub were completely destroyed it seems. Our allies are searching the rubble for survivors as fast as they can, but the Destroyer's forces are not making it easy."

"And Polaris?" asked Elena.

"Omnimon and Lucemon made it in time to save it from being completely overrun," said Tiresias. "There were many casualties, however, including Goldramon."

Elena lowered her head. "I can't believe this is happening."

"And yet it is," Tiresias said in a very troubled tone. "Something is very wrong here if I could not foresee this move."

"Do we know where they will strike next?"

"Malkis and Shin are investigating as we speak. The others are seeking new reinforcements."

"How is Gennai doing?" Elena asked with some hesitation.

"Resting for now. Mortality is not an easy lesson to learn, but it is the lesson he accepted."

"Then this is the beginning of the end for us, isn't it?"

"It must be," said Tiresias. "Once one Guardian falls, we all must fall. Gennai has already chosen his replacement, and I suggest we begin to do the same."

Elena turned her eyes back to Jenomon. "He's so young," she said wistfully. "How did Gennai know he was the one? How can any of us be certain?"

Tiresias knelt beside Jenomon, listening to his peaceful breathing before turning slowly back to Elena. "How has he been faring?"

"He's been resting for a long while. I can't imagine what he's been through."

"When he wakes up, he should remain here," said Tiresias. "Asmodemon believes him to be dead along with the DigiDestined and your son. I see no reason to reveal their survival to him."

"So then he will finally have a chance to grow up someplace peaceful," Elena said with a faint smile. "That's good."

"For as long as the peace lasts here," Tiresias cautioned.

"How is Ryo doing?" asked Elena. "I barely even saw him before Virgil whisked him back to Earth."

Tiresias sighed heavily. "It's difficult to say, Elena. He was badly hurt."

In the southern Earth, Ryo Akiyama remained unconscious. He was in a hospital bed, the slow beeping of monitors keeping track of his heart's steady rhythm. He had been admitted without a name.

"Ever since the D-Reaper was defeated, that Earth has been hostile to digital life," said Tiresias. "Up until now your son's human biology has been able to deal with it, but in his weakened state…it seems to be hindering his recovery."

The tree outside the window cast bizarre shadows over Ryo's comatose form. The IV by his bedside dripped every few seconds, slow but constant like his heartbeat.

"Will he recover at all?"

"I fear what it could mean if he does," Tiresias responded gravely.

Ryo was just one of many people in the intensive care unit. There were a lot of other patients worse off than he was, and more than a few doctors and nurses who may have envied his long sleep.

"He was meant to die back there," said Tiresias. "I know that beyond any doubt. His survival has created an echo that will only grow louder in time. The future that was meant to be has been changed now. I can no longer see the path ahead of us, Elena."

"I'm just happy Ryo's still alive," said Elena. "How or why it happened doesn't matter. As long as he's alive, there's still hope."

There were no dreams for Ryo. His mind—if it could still be considered a whole mind—was mired deep in a fog of confusion. Memories and hopes, feelings and sensations all swirled around inside of him as his body remained perfectly still, his chest barely rising to take in breath.

"It is how it happened that has me worried," said Tiresias. "Never in all my long years has my vision of the future been altered in the slightest. It has been so solely because our world and all who have entered it have always been driven by a purpose, by destiny. Not even Millenniumon's uncanny ability to cheat death could have saved Ryo from his fate. No, this is something far more dangerous."

"I don't understand."

"There can be only one explanation, my sister. He chose to live, even knowing he was meant for death. Even though everything he ever knew or believed in and every cell in his body must have been telling him to let go, he refused. Elena, your son has demonstrated a free will like no other. By choosing life he has altered the future of all worlds in ways we cannot even begin to imagine, and he did so not out of fear of death, not for the sake of survival, not even for those he cares about; none of that would be nearly enough. He chose this path simply because he could."

Nameless and voiceless, Ryo lingered on the precipice between life and death. His unwavering resolve had become more of a prison than a shield now. He would endure on and on and on, never moving, never waking, for a long time to come while the Digital World he so loved slowly burned to ash in the flames of war.

_**The Fifth Eye opens, and it sees you.**_


End file.
